Inside The Wizards

Alex Sarr Has Wizards Feeling Hopeful

Washington Wizards rookie Alex Sarr exhibited some promising growth.

Jeremy Brener

Dec 30, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) shoots over New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) shoots over New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards knew they selected a really raw prospect when they took Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Sarr, 19, played professionally in France, but was now taking his talents to the NBA in order to be part of the next wave of talented big men.

In today's NBA, big men have to be strong passers more than ever before, and Wizards head coach Brian Keefe is excited about where Sarr's development is heading in that area.

“That's the one of the things I really liked about him when I first started watching him,” Keefe said of Sarr’s passing abilities. “I thought he was a pretty unique passer and saw the game well. I thought that would be something that we could utilize at this level and he has.”

A big reason behind Sarr's improvement in his passing has to do with his confidence growing. The more he is out on the floor, the more his confidence grows.

“I noticed that he's just super confident,” Wizards rookie Bub Carrington said. “He's acting like who he is. He has that mindset of who he is, where he belongs and what he's supposed to do. He just kind of has like a completely different like level of focus to his approach to the game and it is showing.”

Sarr is averaging 11.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in each of the last 10 games. That is certainly going to help his trajectory moving forward as he continues to emerge as the Wizards big man of the future.

Sarr and the Wizards return to action tomorrow night as they take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET from inside the Smoothie King Center.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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