“He’s a good enough player to have his own story,” Nikola Jokic says of Alperen Sengun, who he’ll play against during Friday’s Rockets-Nuggets NBA Cup showdown. “He’s an amazing player.”
Friday’s matchup between the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets has major implications, both for group-stage results in the Emirates NBA Cup 2025 and the Western Conference standings.
Houston (10-3) enters with 10 wins in its last 11 games, and with a home victory on Friday, the Rockets would pass Denver (11-3) for second-place in the West.
Superficially, both teams have some similarities. Namely, they’re each led by a European big man who developed into an All-Star in the NBA.
But Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, now 30 years old and a three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP), wants to make sure that Houston’s Alperen Sengun gets his own distinct story.
Though some have referred to the 23-year-old Turkish star as “baby Jokic” in the past, Jokic indicated in pregame comments that he hopes Sengun is appreciated for his unique abilities.
Among those Jokic comments:
I think people connect me with him, but I think we’re different type of players. He’s an amazing player.
You can see some similarities, but I don’t want people to see him and tell me he’s something like me. He’s a good enough player to have his own story.
During the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 competition this offseason, in which Turkey enjoyed a statement win versus Jokic and Serbia, Sengun indicated that he’s not particularly fond of the comparisons, himself.
So, the hope is that when Friday’s game tips off, each player (and team) can be evaluated and appreciated on their own merits. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. Central, and the matchup will be televised nationally on Prime Video.
The two teams are mirror images of each other, statistically. Besides having almost identical records, Houston ranks No. 2 in net rating (11.4), No. 1 on offense (123.0), and No. 7 on defense (111.6), while the Nuggets are No. 3 (11.2), No. 2 (121.8), and No. 3 (110.5) in those respective categories.
