Rockets inside core: It s not easy for European players to gain a foothold in the NBA, you must have a strong heart

Houston Rockets interior star Alperen Sengun is currently undergoing training in Turkey. He also accepted an interview with reporters during his training, and in the interview, he talked about the situation where many star players in European basketball have to choose to return to the European arena because they do not get too many opportunities to play in the NBA.

In this regard, Shin Kyung said: These are two completely different basketballs. From my point of view, Europe is playing one kind of basketball, while the United States is playing another. In my opinion, only European players who come to play in the NBA at a very young age and stay here for a long time can stay in this league for a long time. If you only come after a certain age, the situation will be different, because the situation in all aspects may change significantly. Some of Europe's best players came to the NBA, but after a period of adaptation, they found that they could not gain a foothold in this field. Therefore, you must have strong psychological qualities to do this. In fact, when I first came to the NBA, I didn't get much chance to play either. As long as you can maintain strong psychological qualities, one day the opportunity will come to you, and seizing that opportunity is also important for your career development. Only in this way can you gain a foothold in the NBA, but it is not an easy task.

In the NBA regular season last season, Shin Kyung played 76 games for the Rockets in 82 games, averaging 31.5 minutes per game, averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks, and 2.6 turnovers and 2.8 fouls. His shooting percentage was 49.6%, a three-point shooting percentage of 23.3%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 69.2%. In the playoffs, Shin Kyung made a total of 7 appearances, averaging 36.6 minutes, averaging 20.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.4 blocks, and 2.1 turnovers and 3.7 fouls. He shot 45% from the field, 37.5% from three-point shooting percentage and 62.5% from free throws.

Shin Kyung is the 16th pick in the first round of the NBA draft in 2021. Before joining the NBA, Shin Kyung was already the MVP of the Turkish League. Although Shin Kyung was only a young player under 19 years old when he was selected by the Rockets, he actually has extremely high maturity and immediate combat ability. However, even such a player, the Rockets, the bottom-ranked team in the league at that time, could only play as a substitute. His playing time and his tactical position in the team were very unstable. It has to be said that it is really not easy for European players to gain a foothold in the NBA. Even a player like Shin Kyung needs to put in a lot of effort to get a position in the NBA, let alone other players.