The Washington Wizards may be in the midst of another season in the tank, but the long-term rebuilding plan is finally starting to show signs of bearing fruit.
Alex Sarr began his NBA life as the maligned second overall pick in a weak draft class before putting together a solid, if unspectacular, rookie season. Now in his second year, Sarr has emerged as the Wizards’ best player and the team’s lone representative in league-wide conversations.
It is impossible to watch every game all the time, and I believe one of the best resources for keeping up with the NBA is _The Ringer_’s [monthly ranking of the top 100 players](https://nbarankings.theringer.com/) in the league (I have not been paid by them to say this, though I am happy to send my resume over to the kind folks over at _The Ringer_…). Sarr finally entered the top 100 this month, debuting at number 86.
Sarr is the Wizards’ lone representative on the list, and his 86th-place ranking puts him in the neighborhood of players like Kristaps Porzingis, De’Andre Hunter and Lu Dort. That Sarr even cracked the list at all shows that people are paying attention to his rise and are not getting caught up in his early-career reputation.
His jump from his first to his second season tells me that Sarr’s development is real and that he will be a cornerstone piece for the Wizards going forward. He’s the team’s leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, and his outside shot has improved to 35.4%, meaning it has to be at least _respected_ by defenders, if not quite feared.
Sarr leads the Wizards in rebounding at 8.5 per game, though I would still consider rebounding one of the weaknesses of his game. A seven-foot starting center needs to be a genuine glass cleaner, especially in the absence of any particularly compelling forwards, as is the Wizards’ case. To be fair to Sarr (kind of?), the Wizards’ league-worst defense means there are fewer boards to go around, since opposing players face little resistance making their shots.
In conclusion, while I don’t believe Sarr is a future “best player on a championship team” type of player, I think he is an important foundational piece for a team that one day aspires to play competitive basketball, and it is refreshing to see him finally getting his flowers in the national conversation.
See More:
* [Washington Wizards Player Analysis](/washington-wizards-analysis-players)