WASHINGTON – The Washington Wizards drafted 7-foot Frenchman Alex Sarr with the second pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night, using their highest selection in 14 years to add much-needed size to a team that won just 15 games last season.
Sarr played last season for the Perth Wildcats in Australia. He also spent two years in the US in Overtime Elite, a development league.
The Wizards are a year removed from a front office overhaul and an offseason in which they traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. Their struggles last season — they set a franchise losing record — were fairly predictable, and it’s unclear how much someone in this draft can accelerate their rebuild.
Washington hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 1979, and this is just the third time since then that the franchise has finished in the top two of the draft. The Wizards used the ill-fated No. 1 overall pick on Kwame Brown in 2001. In 2010, they used the top pick on John Wall, ushering in an era of moderate success that eventually ran its course.
The last time the team picked second place, everything worked out perfectly – Wes Unseld, who took second place in 1968, ended up leading the organization to a championship.
Not only did the Wizards trade Porzingis, but they also traded Daniel Gafford during the 2023-24 season, leaving a significant size need. But more than that, Washington just needs any young stars it can potentially build around.
Twenty years after Washington’s NHL team drafted another Alex – Russian star Ovechkin – the Wizards can only hope Sarr has a similar impact.
Atlanta had the No. 1 pick on Wednesday and took French teenager Zaccharie Risacher.
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