American NBA stars have been able to take in this 2025 NBA offseason, whether that’s been just putting work in the gym or making trips overseas to Asia. However, for the European stars of the NBA, they’ve been spending a chunk of their offseason preparing and now playing in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament.
From NBA role players to stars like Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and more, there’s still high-level basketball going on despite the offseason going on. In the final game of group stage play for EuroBasket though, two star NBA centers in Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Houston’s Alperen Sengun went head-to-head before the elimination round.
๐น๐ท Alperen Sengun: 28 PTS 13 REB 8 AST
๐ท๐ธ Nikola Jokic: 22 PTS 9 REB 4 AST 3 STL
A duel for the ages in one of the best #EuroBasket games of all-time! pic.twitter.com/reO1uqA6dy
โ FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 3, 2025
Sengun and Turkey were able to get the win, defeating Jokic and Serbia by a final score of 95-90. While Jokic might take the crown in the NBA with three MVPs and an NBA title, Sengun got the best of him individually, posting 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in the win.
However, he did make sure to take time and give some praise to Jokic, especially since he’s been compared to the three-time MVP since entering the league.
TOP 10 #EuroBasket 2025 players according to ESPN ๐โ๐
1. Nikola Jokic ๐ท๐ธโ
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo ๐ฌ๐ทโโโ
3. Luka Doncic ๐ธ๐ฎ
4. Franz Wagner ๐ฉ๐ชโ
5. Alperen Sengun ๐น๐ท
6. Kristaps Porzingis ๐ฑ๐ป
7. Lauri Markkanen โโโโ๐ซ๐ฎ
8. Deni Avdija ๐ฎ๐ฑ
9. Santi Aldama ๐ช๐ธโ
10. Neemias Queta ๐ต๐น pic.twitter.com/gzeO7lfCGu
โ BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) August 21, 2025
“Jokic is one of the best players in the world. Rather, heโs the best, as of recently. To play and get this win against him was really important for us. As for me, I also had the extra motivation for this game. So weโre happy. And Iโm happy Iโve played well and we won,” Sengun said.
While Sengun is a rising star in the NBA, he’s got a long way to go before he stacks up to the caliber of talent Jokic has become. In the 10 career games that Jokic has faced the Rockets star, he’s posted averages of 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists with a 6-4 career record, according to StatMuse.
The two stars have yet to face each other in the postseason, but with the Nuggets and the Rockets drastically improving this offseason, they could be seeing each other in a high-stakes playoff series as soon as next season. Sengun won’t be asked to be the offensive engine Jokic is, especially with the recent addition of NBA legend Kevin Durant.
๐น๐ท Turkiye center Sertac Sanli believes that his teammate Alperen Sengun can reach or even surpass ๐ท๐ธ Nikola Jokic. ๐
Read more ๐ https://t.co/4QNz8LRhmw pic.twitter.com/W4xb9DMn3g
โ Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) September 3, 2025
As for the EuroBasket tournament, the only way these two stars see each other again will be if they advance to the EuroBasket Finals or face off in the third-place game.
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