How Ime Udoka helped Alperen Sengun decide on long-term Rockets future

How Ime Udoka helped Alperen Sengun decide on long-term Rockets future originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Houston Rockets are down 3-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs. Stars usually rethink their decisions of staying in a franchise after that. However, Alperen Sengun is quite different. The big man has all the reason to stay with this team and see it through. Coach Ime Udoka showed him why he should stay with them for the long-term.

Sengun gets real on Udoka helping him stay with Rockets in the long-term

Alperen Sengun has been named an NBA All-Star for consecutive years now. He is also experiencing some veteran help from Fred Van Vleet and Kevin Durant which is making him grow. More than that, the Rockets have shown great resolve since facing the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs. They went down 3-0 in the first few games but a big 19-point all-around performance from Sengun got the Rockets a Game 4 win to save their season.

Clearly, a lot of have questioned Sengun's future with the Rockets despite the contract that he signed in 2024. But, it was Coach Ime Udoka who made him fall in love with the idea of staying long-term with this franchise, via Mirin Fader of The Athletic.

"When Ime came, I’m pushing myself every second. Defense, rebounding, scoring, everything. I love Houston. I can’t think of living somewhere else in the U.S. Even people are)asking me, ‘Where would you live after you’re retired?’ I still say sometimes it depends on my career, but I love to say Houston … It’s amazing," the Rockets big man said.

As of the moment, Sengun is under a $185 million rookie contract extension that spans up until the 2029-2030 season. So, there will be no problems about his future with the Rockets soon. Trade requests might have also been mitigated because of how much Coach Udoka helped in making Sengun love the system and the city of Houston.