The Houston Rockets have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the start of the season. After starting 0-2 with both losses coming in the last minute of the game, the Rockets have won ten out of their previous eleven games. The Rockets’ latest win was against one of the best teams in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in Cleveland on Wednesday. Night.
The Rockets are back home Friday night for their third cup game, as they welcome the Denver Nuggets, the team with the second-best record in the league. The Nuggets, along with the Rockets, were among the handful of teams many believed had a legitimate chance of winning an NBA title this season.
Any time the Nuggets and Rockets face off, not only are they two of the best teams in the NBA, but it also means a matchup of two of the best centers in the NBA in Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun. Since Sengun entered the NBA and made his first spectacular pass, he has drawn comparisons to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Sengun’s creative passing, ability to run the offense from the post and his elite post skills reminded people of Jokic and led to the “baby Jokic” nickname. For Sengun, early on, this was a compliment he embraced as he looked up to Jokic during his time as a teenager playing in Türkiye.
Alperen Sengun Has Moved on From the Baby Jokic Nickname and Has Become His Own Player
Nov 16, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) walks off the court after the game against the Orlando Magic at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
As he has gotten older and his game has evolved, you could start to see the shift in Sengun’s mindset when it came to the comparison to Jokic. In an interview as early as January of 2024, Sengun spoke about the nickname.
“When I grow up, I don’t wanna hear that [nickname],” Sengün said in January 2024.
After making his first-ever All-Star game last season and helping the Rockets to their best record since 2020, Sengun has gone from just a good young player to one of the best players in the NBA. Sengun continued to distance himself from the Jokic comparison during Türkiye’s historic EuroBasket run, where he outplayed the Serbia superstar in Türkiye’s win over Serbia.
Sengun again spoke about the comparison today at Rockets shootaround via Michael Shapiro, who is a beat reporter for Chron.
Good stuff here from Alperen Şengün on shedding the “Baby Jokić” nickname.
“Jokić, he was [the player I looked up to] when I came to the league. Now I have my own thing, I have my own team.”
“I’m writing my own story.”
Full quote from @HoustonRockets big man ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CSkBO8omLP
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) November 21, 2025
It wasn’t just Sengun who thought he was beyond the ‘baby Jokic’ nickname; his Turkiye teammates felt the same way. Shane Larkin, who has played with Sengun the last few years for the Turkish national team, feels Sengun is so much more than that now.
“That nickname was suiting for him maybe a couple of years ago, but he’s much bigger and much better than he was when they originally gave him that.”
Sengun said after the Rockets’ win over the Cavaliers that he doesn’t back down from anyone, including defensive player of the year Evan Mobley. Sengun has proven it time and time again, especially in the last two seasons. As he gets ready for another matchup with his childhood idol Nikola Jokic, he is prepared to prove he has left the ‘baby Jokic’ name well behind and become his own player.
