2024-25 NBA Draft Guide: Fantasy Face-off, Alperen Sengun vs. Lauri Markkanen

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Our Fantasy Face-Off series will feature two SportsEthos staffers making their arguments in a head-to-head battle of comparable fantasy players. Alperen Sengun and Lauri Markkanen both have third-round ADPs but Sengun is trending more toward the first half of the round while Markkanen has been more of a mid-to-late third pick. Should that be the case?

    Last Season

    Alperen Sengün
    C, Houston Rockets
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 HOU 37 37 31.5 7.7 15.5 49.4 3.6 5.0 73.0 0.3 1.5 21.8 19.3 10.5 5.0 1.2 0.9 2.5
    23-24 HOU 63 63 32.5 8.4 15.6 53.7 3.9 5.6 69.3 0.5 1.8 29.7 21.1 9.3 5.0 1.2 0.7 2.6
    Lauri Markkanen
    PF, Utah Jazz
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 UTA 31 31 31.7 6.3 14.8 42.8 4.4 5.0 88.3 3.1 8.4 36.5 20.1 6.1 1.9 0.8 0.3 1.4
    23-24 UTA 55 55 33.1 7.8 16.2 48.0 4.5 5.0 89.9 3.2 8.0 39.9 23.2 8.2 2.0 0.9 0.5 1.4

    These two players may not have the same statistical and positional overlap as some others in our Fantasy Face-off series, but they offer fantasy managers a chance to go in different directions in the third (or second, or fourth!) round of drafts.

    Alperen Sengun is a bet on upside and continued improvement after a breakout 2023-24 campaign. Sengun earned 32.5 MPG last season, becoming a hub of the offense for the Rockets which allowed for significant boosts in his points and assists while being an impactful fantasy contributor in rebounds, steals, and FG%, though you might hope for more than 0.7 BPG from your center. Offense was never really the issue; questions over whether a defense could be functional with him as the anchor were the main threat to his minutes. That seems to have been answered as the Rockets posted a 112.8 (10th) defensive rating last season thanks to a complement of versatile wings surrounding Sengun. He will look to build upon that progress in his fourth season as the expected leader of the Rockets offense. Sengun finished at No. 48/63 in 8/9-cat leagues last year.

    Lauri Markkanen showed that his 2022-23 breakout was no fluke last season, maintaining superb levels of efficiency as a scorer who doesn’t dominate the ball while continuing to rack up boards as a 7’0″ wing/forward. Markkanen signed a five-year, $238 million renegotiation and extension with the Jazz in August which will prevent him from being traded this season, so he will remain in the environment and with the coach (Will Hardy) who has provided him his best seasons. There are questions over his health and the competitive late-season drive of the Jazz, but his performances have been undeniable when he has been on the court for them. Markkanen finished 26/13th in 8/9-cat last year, with the only complaint coming in the form of a late-season disappearance as the Jazz sank in the standings. He is the known and established entity in terms of risk and reward but that may not be enough for him to get the nod.

    It’s a battle of Sengun’s expected improvement vs. Markkanen’s cloudy late-year outlook despite his clear edge in production to this point.

    The Case for Alperen Sengun


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    October 17, 2024, 3:14 pm