Sengun replaces Gilgeous-Alexander on Team World for all-star game

Team World just got even larger.

Houston Rockets centre Alperen Sengun replaced guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Team World for the 2026 All-Star Game, commissioner Adam Silver announced on Sunday.

The six-foot-11 big will join a team that already includes centres Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns.

However they will be without the daunting frontcourt presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is out with a calf injury.

The injury replacement nod will mark Sengun’s second consecutive all-star appearance. The 23-year-old is averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1 block over 44 games with the Rockets this season.

Sengun also becomes the first two-time all-star from Turkey.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that Gilgeous-Alexander will be out until after the all-star break due to an abdominal strain.

The reigning MVP, Finals MVP and champion sustained the injury during Oklahoma City’s win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. 

The league commissioner, Silver, chooses injury replacements. The first 10 all-stars are selected in a system of weighted votes from fans, media and current NBA players, and the 14 players designated as reserves are chosen in balloting by the league’s head coaches.

Silver also added the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard to the all-star roster last week. Leonard was needed to bring the total number of U.S. all-stars for the new U.S. vs. The World format to the required 16 — ensuring that each team would have the required minimum of eight players.

There are two U.S. teams in the event, one World team. The teams will play a round-robin tournament, then the top two teams will meet again in the all-star final. All four of those games will last 12 minutes, or one standard NBA quarter.

Sengun is one of only two all-stars ever from Turkey. Mehmet Okur is the other, getting his lone all-star selection in 2007.

–With files from The Associated Press