ESPN recognized Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr as the 22nd-best player under 25 in the NBA during the 2025-26 season
After a second loss this season in a game the Wizards held a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter, now responsible for two of three such losses across the NBA in the 2025-26 season, Washington is in staring at another long season. There have been signs of optimism along the way with second-round pick Jamir Watkins' career-high 15 points on Friday the latest, though none bigger than the development of Alex Sarr.
That development was recognized earlier this week after ESPN named Alex Sarr the 22nd-best player in the NBA under 25 years old, ahead of Josh Giddy from the Bulls, Ausar Thompson from the Pistons and Reed Sheppard from the Rockets. Sarr was also previously ranked the 86th best player in the NBA by The Ringer's
"For some, the lasting memory of Sarr remains his 0-for-15 summer league debut after Washington took him second in the 2024 draft. But Sarr steadily improved across his rookie season and has built upon that this year. The biggest change? Going from 45% on 2-point shots to over 56% this season, which has resulted in Sarr scoring nearly 20 points per game on over 50% shooting. There's a reason being able to protect the rim and space the floor as a big man is such a coveted skill set, and Sarr is beginning to realize some of that potential," ESPN wrote.
ESPN also noted the growth for Sarr adding he, "needs to continue to make strides as a shooter. Last season, he shot 30.8% from 3 on more than five attempts per game. This year, he's up to 34.6% but on lower volume. For Sarr to truly reach his ceiling, he needs to become a 3-point shooting weapon that better spaces the floor for his teammates.
Sarr missed his sixth consecutive game on Sunday night due to right adductor soreness, the development of former second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has been arguably the brightest spot for Washington through the first quarter of the season. Sarr's 19.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and two blocks per game leads the Wizards with free throws the only major category he has yet to improve on from his rookie season. He also comfortably leads the NBA in shots defended at the rim.
“I think our offense is growing, and playing through him is growing. You can see that he can read the game well. When we play through him, he can see the passes and he’s a very unselfish guy. He’s not looking for his own shot — and that’s the reason we want the ball in his hands — and he can see what he’s capable of. I think he’s just seeing the pictures," head coach Brian Keefe said last month.
While an exact date is unclear, general manager Will Dawkins said on 106.7 on Wednesday that Sarr is among a handful of players expected to return "within the week to ten days."
“I think you will see Bilal [Coulibaly] come back here pretty quickly. Hopefully Alex, at some point at the end of this week is trending, if not early next week. Khris Middleton right around that same page. So we're starting to get guys healthy. It was good to see Tre [Johnson] get back there, even though he was on that 15 minutes cap, pretty much. But you’ll start seeing a little bit more there. And then Corey [Kispert], with his broken thumb, has started progressing, doing more on the course. So I think Khris, Bilal and Alex are probably within the week to ten days, hopefully sooner, and then not too much further after that with Corey.”