However, with veterans like Durant and Fred VanVleet<\/a> in town, youngsters like Alperen Sengun<\/a>, Amen Thompson<\/a>, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. are all expected to take the next step<\/a> and establish themselves as a legitimate threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n VanVleet spent a large chunk of his offseason in Istanbul training with Alperen Sengun, and he was impressed by what he saw. <\/p>\n While Durant arrives as the most talented player on the roster, Sengun is by far the most important. At only 23 years old, he is coming off his first All-Star appearance and is expected to remain one of the better young players in the NBA alongside Texas rivals Cooper Flagg<\/a> and Victor Wembanyama<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sengun has been compared to Nikola Jokic<\/a> for his versatile offensive game and eye-popping passing abilities, although he is more athletic than Jokic is, and his ceiling, at least according to VanVleet, is still untouched.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Alpi can take another big jump,\u201d said the veteran. \u201cHe took another jump last year, obviously became an All-Star. I think this year, you want to be a year stronger, better, more experienced. You know, he had a good playoff series, but I know it\u2019s just a lot of stuff you want to get better at.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Alperen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2209076718-940x627.jpg\")
Photo by Eakin Howard\/Getty ImagesFred VanVleet is confident in Alperen Sengun<\/p>\n