Stars are born on national teams. Their skills are sharpened in international competitions, confidence and experience boosted among countrymen and national team support.
Right now we’re watching it in real time with Alperen Şengün, the star of Türkiye and superstar of the NBA to come. I’ll get back to that spectacular game and the making of a superstar, which seemed to happen during it.
Like Lauri Markkanen,
who firmly established himself on the NBA scene following his huge performance in Eurobasket 2022, earning him an NBA All Star spot and NBA Most Improved Player the following year in 2023. Now he is playing even better this Eurobasket, averaging 25.4 points, third in the competition.
Then there’s the feel-good story of Guershon Yabusele of France, who had a great Olympics 2024, in which he had an incredible poster dunk on LeBron James that put him on the radar in the US. That eventually led him to a contract with the Philadelphia 79’ers after five years in Europe and China.
And Luka Doncic was a wonderkid in Real Madrid and Europe already, but really burst onto the international stage with his performance in Eurobasket 2017, where Slovenia took home the gold. International competitions have a way to hatch the biggest stars of the future.
Let’s return to Alperen Şengün. Yes, he was good last year in the NBA, but have you seen him in Eurobasket this year?
As Serbia has shown to be the best, deepest and most experienced team by far (in this tournament, and in the world at this point), Türkiye is the up-and-comer, the clear underdog to Serbia’s dominance, though with a bright future full of trophies, no doubt.
And in the middle of the raging success story that is Türkiye at this year’s Eurobasket, is Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün. He has not only played well, he has dominated every game, led Türkiye and a team of great EuroLeague and NBA players and is averaging 21.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. All at the tender age of 23.
We knew we were in store for a battle at the five in this game of the giants – Jokic versus Şengün, but we had no idea how much of a duel extraordinaire it would be.
Right off the bat in the first quarter, Jokic does a post move with the soft finish for the two, and while Serbia’s fans chant “MVP” for Jokic, Şengün gets the ball in the other end and hits a perfect three, silencing the Serbs. That starts the Turkish fans, who take over the “MVP” chants. What a start, what a duel of the ages. What a wonderful scene for the best basketball imaginable.
They call him baby Jokic, but Şengün is now a grown man, beating Jokic on the post and with his three-point shots. The soft finish and vision are so similar, however. They are equal in size. Şengün is 23 and Jokic 30. One a three-time NBA MVP award recipient and the other bound to step in his footsteps if he keeps this level up.
Outshining Jokic at times, Şengün seems to have found his stride and personality on the international stage. And is there a better place to do just that than when you’re surrounded by your countrymen? A star is born, a superstar of the future has established himself.
As the game was tied at 40 just before the break, Serbia’s best defender Aleksa Avramovic leaves with an injury. But Serbia keeps going. Here, the system is bigger than the individual (for a team who just lost Bogdan Bogdanovic to injury, as well, you wouldn’t know unless you really paid attention).
And Türkiye gets the lead with two minutes left, winning by five in a fight to the last second. Şengün’s fingerprints were all over the game. It was this defensive play that helped Türkiye hold on to the lead:
This was the best game of the tournament, an NBA playoff worthy game. Evenly matched teams, one superstar peaking now, the other one on his way.
If these teams meet later in the knockout stage (or dare I say final), this is going to be a dream come true for basketball fans. Under pressure, experience usually comes out on top, and Serbia will be the favorite despite this loss.
In international basketball, we get the chance to watch the stars and superstars of the future fulfill and rise to their potential. The safety and community in playing with your countrymen, paired with the shorter format of a tournament, and the pressure to perform, give the players a unique chance to rise to the occasion and grow.
This is where we see the international stars of the future come onto the big stage, and if the intense, physical, high IQ basketball wasn’t enough reason to watch, this should be.
The Round of 16, which is the start of the knockout stage, begins on Saturday, September 6.
