The Charlotte Hornets own their own first-round pick and are owed second-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers. Over the next couple of months, leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Swarm & Sting will take a look at prospects hoping to hear their name called on draft night.
Age: 18
Height: 6′ 10″
Weight: 240 lbs
College Stats/Awards
Alperen Şengün played for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Super League during the 2020-21 season. He played in 29 games averaging 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 64.6% from the field.
Primary Strengths
There aren’t a lot of players coming into the league at Şengün’s size. At 18 years of age, Şengün is 6-feet, 10 inches in height, and weighs 240 pounds; he is a player that really uses his size and frame on the court. Şengün has never been the primary scorer but finds a way to produce on the offensive side of the court. He is a solid low post scorer and is a great finisher at the basket. Şengün is a solid athlete and plays with a good motor; he is a fair defender but rebounds really well.
Primary Weaknesses
Şengün needs to work on expanding his offense; he is effective down low but is almost non-existent from the mid-range and beyond the arc. He could improve his strength and also his conditioning, which will aid him on defense as Şengün struggles to defend quicker players.
Draft Projection
Şengün is being described as the next coming of Denver Nuggets’ NBA Most Valuable Player contender, Nikola Jokić. Şengün himself has stated that he watches Jokić and wants to play the same style as him. Teams won’t make the same mistake with Şengün as they did with Jokić. Jokić was selected in the second round, #41 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft; expect Şengün to come off the board towards the end of the lottery or shortly after in the first round.
The NBA announced on February 26 that for this draft only, all college players must declare their eligibility, regardless of class, if they wish to enter the draft. The NBA Draft Combine will be held on June 21–27. NCAA players have 10 days after the end of the combine to withdraw from the draft.
The draft lottery will be held on Tuesday, June 22 on ESPN. The 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft will be televised on ABC (first-round only) and ESPN.