Alperen Şengün, Rockets Agree to 5-Year, $185M Rookie Contract Extension

Coming off a breakout season, the Houston Rockets have rewarded Alperen Şengün with a contract extension.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, Şengün agreed to a five-year, $185 million rookie extension on Monday.

This offseason was the first time Şengün was eligible to sign an extension. He still has one year remaining on his rookie deal with a $5.4 million salary in 2024-25.

Originally selected No. 16 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 NBA draft, Şengün was acquired by the Rockets for two future first-round draft picks.

Prior to the draft, Şengün spent three seasons playing professional basketball in Turkey from 2018 to '21. He was named the Turkish Basketball Super League MVP in his lone season with Beşiktaş in 2020-21.

Şengün showed promise as an NBA rookie with 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 20.7 minutes per game over 72 appearances.

After moving into the starting lineup for the 2022-23 season, Şengün's performance got even better. He led the Rockets with 9.0 rebounds and ranked third on the team with 14.8 points in 75 appearances.

The 2023-24 campaign saw Şengün turn in a near-All-Star-level performance. He averaged career-highs in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3), assists (5.0) and steals (1.2) per game.

Şengün's season came to an early end when he suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of a March 10 win over the Sacramento Kings. There was initially concern that he suffered a significant injury, but it was diagnosed as a severely sprained ankle and bruised knee.

The Rockets had hit their stride at the time of Şengün's injury. They were 4-1 in five games prior to him going down, and they were able to keep playing at a high level with an 11-game winning streak in which the final nine victories came without him in the lineup.

After making a big bet in free agency last offseason by signing Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks with the hope of accelerating their return to postseason contention, the Rockets got marked improvement from recent draft additions like Şengün, Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. to fill out their core.

There's still work to be done by the front office to make the Rockets a true threat in the playoffs because of how deep the Western Conference is right now, but building around Şengün, Green and Smith seems like an easy call.

Şengün's extension is an indication that the Rockets believe they are firmly on the right track.