Wizards select French F/C Alex Sarr with No. 2 pick in 2024 NBA Draft

The pick is in, and the Washington Wizards have selected French forward/center Alexandre Sarr with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Sarr, 19, began his pro journey with Real Madrid in Spain in 2019, spending two years with their Cadet Team before coming to the States to spend two years in the Overtime Elite league based in Atlanta.

The 7-footer spent last season in Australia, playing for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League, where he averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.9 assists in 17 minutes per game while shooting 52 percent from the field.

Sarr’s draft profile notes he measured a 7-foot-5 wingspan and 30-inch standing vertical at the Combine, and he is ‘a long and lanky prospect who is stronger than he looks, plays with excellent aggressiveness, and is extremely mobile,’ and is an ‘excellent rim protector who is developing into a legitimate threat facing the basket,’ but is ‘much further along defensively and is questionable to develop into a high-level scorer.’

Sarr also has represented France in international competitions since 2021 and led them to three medals, winning the 2021 FIBA U16 European Challengers, earning bronze at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup, and taking silver at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup.

And, he comes from a pro pedigree, as his father, Massar, played professional overseas, and older brother Olivier, played at Wake Forest and Kentucky and is currently on a two-way deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, with 46 NBA games on his resume over three seasons.

The Wizards have a second pick in Round 1, at No. 26 overall, and then the No. 51 overall pick in Thursday’s second round.