Charles Barkley Hands Alperen Sengun All-Star Endorsement and Gives the Rockets Their Flowers

Charles Barkley has heaped praise on the high-flying Houston Rockets, and singled out one man in particular driving their success this season.

Charles Barkley: Alperen Sengun is a “Poor Man’s Kevin McHale”

The Houston Rockets are soaring to the upper echelons of the Western Conference this season.

Although the Sacramento Kings inflicted their first defeat in six games to bring an end to a breathtaking winning streak, the Rockets remaining firmly glued to second spot; this is certainly no mean feat given how stacked the top half of the conference is.

While some of the league’s larger franchises are leaning heavily on their old guard to keep them afloat, Houston’s youthful rebuild has more than paid dividends as a core of budding young players continue to raise them into playoff contention.

At the heart of everything positive coming out of Houston right now is Alperen Sengun, whose versatility as a quasi big man-fleet footed center continues to earn him widespread plaudits.

Likened to the way MVP favorite Nikola Jokic operates, Sengun has been both a creative lynchpin for his teammates as well as a points-scorer himself.

His contribution is, of course, best reflected by solid all-round stats for a center; 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, five assists and a field goal percentage of 49 all combine for what is projected to be a career-best season.

With the Rockets riding a 27-13 record, his role as the fulcrum of the team could be made all the more crucial as they head towards a potential first playoff berth since 2019/20.

The rest of the league are beginning to fear them, and the media are coming out in full force to sing their praises – not least TNT’s Charles Barkley, who gave Houston their flowers on a recent Inside The NBA segment.

“[The Rockets] are really ballin’ right now. Ime Udoka is doing a fabulous job,” Barkley said.

“The interesting question has got to be Alperen Sengun. Is he gonna be an All-Star or not? I would put him on the All-Star team because we got to reward winning. And he’s the best player on the team with the second-best record in the West.

“Man, this guy got some feet work, like Shaq would say. He’s a poor man’s Kevin McHale.”

“[The Rockets] are really ballin’ right now” 💪

Chuck gives Houston and Şengün their flowers 💐 pic.twitter.com/r0e3wo2elR

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 17, 2025

After a breakout season last year, Sengun will be hoping Barkley is correct in his endorsement and will be eyeing a place at the brand new All-Star tournament come February.

There was no sign of Sengun in the latest All Star fan voting returns, however.