Alexandre Sarr Is Ideal Draft Prospect for San Antonio Spurs to Pair With Victor Wembanyama
For the fifth year in a row, the San Antonio Spurs will most likely have a lottery draft pick. The Spurs will enter the 2024 NBA Draft with possibly three first-round picks: theirs, Toronto’s (protected 1-6), and Charlotte’s (protected 1-14). In recent drafts, the Spurs landed key components of their young core in Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell, but their young roster is headlined by emerging superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Despite pleas to draft a point guard, the most intriguing prospect is actually another big man: Alexandre Sarr. If the Spurs secure a top-three pick, Sarr and USC point guard Isaiah Collier will certainly be on the radar. Collier offers immense talent and fit, but Sarr allows the Spurs to tout perhaps the greatest defensive lineup in the league.
Victor Wembanyama greets fans after an early-season win.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Sarr is a 19-year-old, 7-1 center native to Bordeaux, France. He has been playing professional basketball since 2021, starting in the Overtime Elite league which garnered attention thanks to the hype surrounding the Thompson twins, drafted fourth and fifth in this year’s draft.
Just running through his stats as a teenager, it makes sense why is is the projected number-one center and among the best draft prospects in 2024. In 19 international games spanning 2021-2023, Sarr has posted 10.4 points, five rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, all in just 19 minutes per game. Oh, and he shot 37 percent from deep, in admittedly low volume.
In 12 games with Perth’s National Basketball League team in Australia, the teenager has averaged 9.5 points, 1.2 blocks, and 4.7 rebounds in 18 minutes. His shooting has taken a bit of a slump, but unlike the junior tournaments he played in Europe, the Australian games have been against grown men.
He brings some intangibles to the table that the NBA hasn’t seen since…Victor Wembanyama. An uber athlete, he can guard on the perimeter as well as the rim, has the confidence to shoot the ball, and can shoot over almost everyone in the NBA.
Unlike most centers or power forwards, he can dribble through traffic or shoot the ball in the face of defenses.
While it’s true that he needs to add strength and work on shot selection, those are common concerns with most NBA-caliber center prospects. A potential lineup next season of Wembanyama, Sarr, Sochan, Vassell, and either Tre Jones or a new lead guard would suffocate opposing offenses and allow the Spurs to shoot from anywhere or bully their way to the rim. A lineup with two highly mobile players over seven feet would terrorize the league.
He has already drawn comparisons to Wembanyama. The best player to play alongside Victor? How about another Victor?
Fans are salivating over Isaiah Collier, who could solve all the Spurs’ point guard woes. However, Malcolm Brogdon is still on the trade block, Tre Jones is a viable option, and who knows? Jeremy Sochan might improve over the course of the season as the lead guard. Even if that doesn’t happen, Tyus Jones and Markelle Fultz are available free agents this summer. Rather than drafting for fit, the Spurs could add the best player available in Sarr.
