Carmelo Anthony Boldly Names Rockets Star As 2026 MVP Candidate, and It’s Not Kevin Durant
Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony boldly claimed to name a rising Houston Rockets star as a potential MVP candidate for the 2025-26 season. The Rockets have been rebuilding for 2-3 years now and finally look like a team that can contend in the Western Conference this season.
Last season, Houston reached the playoffs, finishing second in the Western Conference standings and successfully clinching their division. They played a valiant round 1 playoff series against the Golden State Warriors and went down fighting in seven highly competitive games.
Now, a resurgent Rockets side with Kevin Durant in their ranks looks even more formidable than last season, with incredible roster depth. While Houston will aim to go deep in the postseason in the upcoming season, many analysts and former players are staking a claim for a Rockets player to be a potential star in the 2025-26 NBA season.
Which Rockets Star Did Carmelo Anthony Name as a Potential 2026 MVP Candidate?
In the latest episode of the 7 p.m. in Brooklyn podcast, Anthony named the Turkish rising star, Alperen Şengün, as one player to watch out for in the upcoming season. Furthermore, staking a claim that the 23-year-old center could be a strong contender to win the MVP title in the 2025-26 campaign.
Anthony said, “Breakout year? He could be the MVP. We are talking about MVP candidates like Şengün, who could be it. Think about this: KD never played with a big man that you could throw the ball into, and the offense could be run through this center. Somebody who could go twirl on the blocks, play up top, and have a similar game to Jokic.”
He added, “But KD never played on a team with that type of big man; he never played on a team with a player like Thompson. Thompson is a player who is a Swiss Army knife; he can do so many different things…”
Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) says Alperen Şengün can be an MVP candidate this season
“KD never played a big man you can throw the ball into, and the offense can be ran through – someone who has a similar game to Jokic”
“And I can just throw the ball to Sengun, or play in… pic.twitter.com/1yaDeyr634
— Franchise Şengün (@FranchiseSengun) October 14, 2025
He continued, saying, “But you have never been around a group of guys like that, every team you had guards, you had Russ, you had James, you had Kyrie, you had Steph and Klay, you had guards around you.”
Anthony concluded, “Now you can just play on the wing. And I can just throw the ball to Şengün, or play pick and roll with Şengün. Pick your poison — because Şengün is going to score, or get fouled. I’m going to score, or do something with it. Pick your poison.”
The tall Turkish center had a breakout season last year, where he was named an All-Star. During the offseason, he led Turkey to the FIBA Euro Championship Finals, going down fighting against Germany.
At just 23 years of age, Şengün has a lot left in the tank to prove and achieve in the NBA, and it remains to be seen how well he teams up with Durant in the upcoming season.
