Houston Rockets' Alperen Şengün Slighted in Most Improved Player Odds

Alperen Şengün has emerged as one of the best centers in the league for the Houston Rockets, but sportsbooks have him behind some underserving players.

Alperen Şengün is having a career year for the Houston Rockets. He has emerged as the best player on a playoff hopeful and is averaging career-highs in points, assists, three-point percentage, and field goal percentage. He also has the second-highest usage percentage on the team, behind only lead guard Jalen Green. Thanks to his play, the previously league-worst Rockets are now 6-6.

Unfortunately, the Rockets tend to be ignored. Based on SI Sportsbook’s odds, Şengün has the fourth-best odds to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, at +1000. For many reasons, this is ridiculous.

Ahead of him are Tyrese Maxey (-118), Scottie Barnes (+450), and Cameron Thomas (+700). Behind him lies Cade Cunningham (+1200) and Jalen Duren (+2200).

Maxey being ahead of him makes sense. The third-year guard took over for James Harden and ended up being better than the Beard ever was in Philadelphia. He leads the league in minutes, propelled the Sixers to a 10-3 record, and is averaging 26.8 points, up from 20.3 from last year.

There is no reason why Maxey shouldn’t be the heavy favorite right now. However, the inclusion of Thomas, Barnes, and Cunningham is laughable at best.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun reacts after a play during the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Toyota Center / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Cam Thomas has made the jump from 10.6 points per game to 26.9 points per game. That should be enough to secure him a top spot, but in today’s NBA, every team has a 20-point scorer. 

This season, Thomas’s minutes have basically been doubled, and his shot attempts have been off the chart. He is not an efficient scorer and embodies the idea of just chucking up shots until they stick. Honestly, if any NBA player had a green light like Thomas, they could replicate his improvement. His Nets, by the way, are 6-7.

Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham are easily the most egregious inclusions. Cunningham has shown some improvement from last year, but he only played 12 games last season. 

Plus, he was drafted first overall and expected to be among the NBA’s best players. Meeting expectations does not merit an award. 

Barnes is a similar story. He regressed last year in his sophomore season, and now, in year three, is taking the jump that he was expected to make last season. If anything, he failed to meet expectations and is now getting rewarded for it.

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As for including Jalen Duren, there’s no issue with that. In eight games, he has established himself as a double-double machine and should get his flowers.

Şengün has emerged as one of the better players in the league despite being selected 16th overall. He is showing improvement, taking a bigger responsibility on the roster, and is leading his teams to wins all while exceeding expectations.