WASHINGTON Wizards rookie Alex Sarr is living the dream, arriving in the NBA after a journey that spanned three continents.
And his new teammate, point guard Jordan Poole, couldn’t be happier to see the 7-foot Frenchman join the Wizards’ young team and usher in a new era in Washington.
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“I’m really excited to start something in D.C.,” Poole, 25, told The US Sun after appearing at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sarr, 19, was firmly in command of his destiny from the beginning of his playing days until practically the day the Wizards drafted the Bordeaux native second overall in June.
The French center decided to follow a different path than his older brother, Olivier, who reached the NBA after playing college basketball at Wake Forest and Kentucky.
Sarr left France to play for Real Madrid’s youth team in Spain before turning professional at age 16 to join the newly created Overtime Elite league in Atlanta, Georgia in 2021.
Two years later, he traveled the world to spend his pre-draft season with the Perth Wildcats in Australia’s National Basketball League.
With the draft approaching, Sarr made a leverage move, deciding not to attend a private workout with the Atlanta Hawks, who owned the No. 1 pick, as he reportedly preferred to play for Washington.
The plot worked and, after all those air miles, he donned an NBA jersey with Wizards colors to start his Summer League run against Zaccharie Risacher’s Hawks in a showdown between the two top picks.
“It feels great,” Sarr told The US Sun a few days later, describing what he felt now that he was part of the Association.
“It was a lifelong dream. Now let’s just work and, you know, be an NBA player.”
Sarr would show what most of his scouting reports said – that he is an elite, versatile defender and athletic finisher with a high basketball IQ, but still an unreliable jumper.
He would average 5.5 points on 19.1% shooting from the field, along with 7.8 rebounds and a fifth-best 2.5 blocks per game.
But the Wizards rookie arrived in Las Vegas aware of his big upside, he suggested when asked about his goals for 2024-25.
“I’m getting better every day and being a better player than I am now,” Sarr said.
Sarr’s high ceiling was evident to Poole, as was the Frenchman’s adaptation to the Wizards – whose defense has not been higher than 20th for six consecutive seasons.
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“Really talented, with a lot of potential,” the point guard said of his new teammate after Washington’s 109-91 loss to the Houston Rockets on July 14.
“He is coming to our team at the right time.
“We’re excited just to watch him play his game and everyone grow and learn together.”
Poole presented a long list of qualities when asked what Sarr could add to the squad on Day 1.
“He’s athletic. He’s long. He can run. He’s a great shot blocker,” he said.
“I think he fits in with the direction we’re going – a lot of young players, a lot of guys who can play, a lot of guys who have confidence.
“So just being able to get our guys together, be a really good group, just enjoy each other, get chemistry.
“All being similar in age, just going together would be really cool.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
