NBA’s No. 2 Pick Struggles in Debut with Wizards

The 2024 NBA Draft’s second overall pick saw a rough opener to start his career with Washington.

Oct 11, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (20) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The NBA is officially back, with teams and players making their 2024-25 debuts over the last few days.

Some players, namely the 2024 NBA Draft class, are making their very first appearances in the big leagues. One of those was Wizards No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, who saw a less-than-stellar performance to kickstart his career.

In the team’s 20-point loss to the defending-champion Celtics on Thursday, Sarr scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting, including 0-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. He was able to add five rebounds, one assist and two patented blocks, but it was an otherwise underwhelming performance for the team’s new starting center.

Unfortunately, Sarr is no stranger to disappointing debuts. Although there's worse teams to fair badly against than the world's best.

His initial Summer League action featured one of the worst performances in some time, an ice-cold 0-for-15 shooting from the field, totaling a sum of nil. The big was playing a strong defensive opponent in Portland’s Donovan Clingan, but it was a bizarre performance, nonetheless.

Thankfully for Wizards fans, there’s a few things going for Washington’s newest draftee.

While he has seen some down debuts, he’s also bounced back to put on some decent performances. In his very first preseason game, he cruised his way to 15 points in just 22 minutes, utilizing plenty of what made him the No. 2 overall pick. And he enjoyed some other strong preseason games, too.

Additionally, Sarr was always a project selection. Despite being drafted second, he’s going to be a player that needs time and patience to develop into a truly strong two-way player.

For now, Wizards fans will hope for games with more than one field goal made. That could come as soon as Saturday, when the team will take on Cleveland at 5 p.m.

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