Rockets' Alperen Sengun’s All-Star Player Vote Raises Questions

The NBA has become globalized. The league's footprint has been expanding for decades.

Some of the game's greatest players hail from overseas. Both past and present, I should add.

Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the greatest players in league history. Yao Ming, another franchise legend, is also a legendary talent at the center position.

Both players are Hall of Famers.

Elsewhere, Toni Kukoc is a Hall of Famer. Vlade Divac is a Hall of Famer. Arvydas Sabonis is a Hall of Famer. Dirk Nowitzki.

The list goes on. And those are all players of yesteryear.

Nowadays, the top players in the NBA are internationally bred. We haven't had an American-born player take home the MVP award since James Harden won it in 2018.

It's been Giannis Antetokounmpo (twice), Nikola Jokic (three times), Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Luka Doncic hasn't won one yet either, but he's already been named a finalist.

The world tournaments have become much more competitive also. The days of the NBA players dominating the world are over.

This isn't 1992 anymore.

Again, the game has globalized.

Alot of the American-born NBA players haven't fully embraced that concept yet. In part, because the masses have created a 'United States versus the world' narrative.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who was born and raised in Turkey, will be a surefire All-Star next month, for his second season in a row.

Sengun ranks 16th in assists (6.4), 12th in rebounds (nine boards) and 26th in scoring (21.2 points).

He also ranks 20th in Player Efficiency Rating, which is a summary of a player's overall contributions per minute.

Yet the Houston Rockets center ranked 32nd among player votes for next month's All-Star game, which caught the attention of The Ringer's Zach Lowe, who questioned Sengun's low rank on Lowe's signature Zach Lowe Show.

"Look, the rankings...there's a bunch of people tied for spots. But Sengun, 32nd among players, in player voting? Here are some of the players he's behind. Julius Randle, Ja Morant, Jaden McDaniels, Dillon Brooks, Stephon Castle -13th. Donte DiVincenzo. On and on. What did Sengun do to all of these people? Christian Braun is 27th. He hasn't played much in like a month and a half."

Player voting is just one tier, along with media and fan voting.

Whatever the reason, Sengun's placement is certainly perplexing.