The Golden State Warriors got a taste of the rising stardom of Alperun Sengun when they faced off against the Houston Rockets in the first-round of the playoffs last season, not that fans gained too much respect when the young center complained afterwards that the Warriors were the ones crying about fouls throughout the enthralling seven-game series.
Nonetheless Sengun is one of the best young players in the league, making it hard to forget that the Warriors could have easily drafted the 6'11" big man and obtained the long-term starting center they're still searching for.
Golden State's 2021 draft mistakes are coming back to bite them
Golden State's brutal blunder in passing up on Sengun four years ago has only been made worse by his recent performances at EuroBasket, with the 23-year-old's stock rising further after leading Turkey to an unbeaten record on their way to the final.
Turkey and Sengun took down Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece to advance, having limited the 2x MVP to just 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting in what was a dominant 94-68 semi-final victory. Sengun had 15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals himself, finishing as a +24 in his nearly 33 minutes on the floor.
Sengun is now averaging 20.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in eight games at EuroBasket, shooting 56% from the floor and 35.3% from 3-point range as he continues the momentum from what was a first All-Star season in the NBA.
The Rockets acquired Sengun in a draft night trade, having originally been taken 16th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder may not have too many regrets about trading Sengun given they've just won the championship, but the Warriors certainly might given they had access to him two picks earlier.
Golden State instead drafted Moses Moody with the 14th pick. While the young wing has developed into a rotation piece who's just about to start a new three-year, $37.5 million contract with the franchise, he certainly isn't at Sengun's level nor holds anywhere near the same upside.
Passing on Sengun may have had something to do with drafting James Wiseman number two overall a year earlier, something that now stings even further given the latter failed to live up to the lofty expectations.
Just to top things off even further, the Warriors also passed on Trey Murphy III who went one after Sengun at 17th overall. Golden State ironically have now expressed trade interest in Murphy this offseason, yet it would likely take some combination of Moody, their seventh overall pick from that draft in Jonathan Kuminga, and multiple future first-round picks to even enter the conversation with the New Orleans Pelicans.
As for Sengun, he'll look to complete a perfect EuroBasket campaign in helping Turkey take down the might of Germany on Sunday.