Alexandre Sarr

Alexandre Sarr started playing basketball at the age of 4 in Bordeaux, France. His father Massar is a former professional basketball player for Senegal, while his older brother Olivier currently plays in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder, so Alexandre has always been around basketball courts. He joined the Spanish Club Real Madrid in 2019 and played two seasons on their cadet team. He joined the French junior national team in 2021 and helped them win the FIBA U16 European Challengers. He helped earn France the bronze medal in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and the silver medal in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup. In 2021, Sarr moved to the United States to join the newly established Overtime Elite League in Atlanta, securing an alternative professional pathway with a guaranteed salary. He played two seasons at Overtime Elite, the first season playing for Team Overtime and the second season with YNG Dreamerz. During his second season he was named second team all-OTE honors in 2022-2023. In May of 2023, Sarr signed with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). So far for Perth he is averaging 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Sarr is an imposing 7’1” player with a 7’5” wingspan who can affect the game with his defensive abilities. He is a force at the center position who changes the trajectory of shots and blocks the ones that don’t try to change. He has exceptional footwork and has the patience of a veteran shot blocker who knows all the tricks used to try and get him to leave his feet. He is efficient at sliding his feet and being able to leave his opponent to cause havoc on the other side of the rim. In two exhibition games this year against the G League Ignite, he had 6 blocks in each game, and that was against several future NBA draft picks. He is by far the best defensive prospect in this draft. Sarr is an explosive finisher who dunked 44% of his attempts at the rim last season. He is an active cutter who exploits matchup problems with his length and explosion. He is a fluid ball handler who can pass the ball well for a 7’1” player. On the downside, Sarr is a turnover machine, getting called for travels and forcing a lot of passes that don’t need to be made. This is something he will need to clean up as he continues playing professionally. He is not a consistent shooter and lacks rhythm in his jump shot. A consistent jump shot will help his perimeter driving which he does very well. He needs to cut down on his fouls and he misses big chunks of time in crucial spots because he is in foul trouble. He is an aggressive shot blocker but may need to pick and choose a bit more wisely. He also draws a lot of fouls and will need to work on his free throw shooting. In the NBA teams will not hesitate to foul him instead of giving up an easy basket, so getting his foul shooting % up will be very important. With the defense that Alexandre Sarr can play, he is very reminiscent of last season’s Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson. Jackson of the Grizzlies is 6 '10 " with a 7' 4” wingspan and is undeniably a force to be reckoned with in the paint. Both guys excel at blocking shots and controlling the boards. Jackson has improved his scoring since being the 4th overall pick in 2018 out of Michigan State. If Sarr can improve what he needs to on offense he could become an 18 point 10 rebound guy with the chance to block 2 or 3 shots every night.