Until Tuesday, Alex Sarr’s breakout second season was happening almost entirely in losses. The Washington Wizards big man started to show off a more realized version of the tantalizing bundle of traits that made him the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft.
Sarr has been more aggressive getting inside and more effective at finishing plays when he gets there. He has continued to rack up blocks and has emerged as one of the league’s best young rim protectors. His three-point volume is down, but his percentage is up, as are his passing statistics.
Most importantly, Sarr is a decided positive for Washington on the court. The Wizards are nearly 13 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the court compared with their performance when he’s not, according to Cleaning the Glass. But it hadn’t translated to wins, which have been scarce for the tanking Wizards.
After starting the season 1-1 — and leading deep into their third game — Washington dropped 14 straight. The NBA has seen five losing streaks that went at least 14 games since 2024; Washington is responsible for four.
That string of defeats ended Tuesday night when the Wizards trounced the Atlanta Hawks, 132-113, for their first home win. CJ McCollum led the way by scoring 46, but more important to Washington’s future, Sarr was just as impactful.
Sarr finished with 27 points (on 11-for-15 shooting), 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It’s his fifth game with at least 15 points and 10 rebounds, already matching his total from last season.
And it obviously felt better that the strong showing came in a win.
“Most definitely,” Sarr said. “It’s the whole point. That’s why you try to have good games, to win.”
The victory continues a somewhat better stretch of late for the Wizards, who found an early nadir after a blowout loss to the similarly lowly Brooklyn Nets. After the defeat, Coach Brian Keefe said his team “buckled” to adversity, and Washington held a players-only meeting.
Then followed a three-game road trip where Sarr missed the first two games. The Wizards trailed by as much as 27 to a playoff-caliber Minnesota Timberwolves team. They cut the deficit to five in the fourth quarter before faltering. Washington also lost backup center Marvin Bagley III for the next game against Toronto, which shot 50 percent from three and scored 140 points in a rout. The next day, with Sarr back, the Wizards fought Chicago until the end of a one-point loss.
Keefe said Tuesday’s performance showed his team was getting better, continuing an upward trend that started on that road trip.
“You always want to win,” he said. “You’re competitors. That’s the biggest thing. … We want to win. Our guys are disappointed when they don’t. But it just shows you what we’re capable of. Now, we got to continue to stack it.”
The most impressive part of Sarr’s game that didn’t show up on the box score, Keefe said, was the shots he deterred the Hawks (11-8) from taking around the rim.
Midway through the first quarter, Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker drove left. Sarr walled him off and forced him to pick up his dribble and toss a pass out to the perimeter, which bounced off a Hawks player’s shin and into the hands of Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly.
About three minutes later, Hawks wing Dyson Daniels drove inside and leaped. Sarr jumped with him, his 7-foot-4 wingspan blocking out the rim. Daniels tried to adjust in midair for a pass, but Sarr swatted that, too.
Sarr tormented Daniels again in the fourth quarter as Atlanta attacked in transition. Daniels went at Sarr but didn’t rise up for a shot, instead attempting a behind-the-back dribble that went awry.
After the game, Sarr said he enjoyed when opponents shied away from testing him.
“I wish it happened more,” he said.
What makes the 20-year-old — yes, he’s still just 20 — particularly exciting is his versatility. He pairs his size with uncommon foot speed and fluid movements that let him guard smaller players on the perimeter. He did so against Luke Kennard, staying in front of the Hawks guard before darting his hand out to pickpocket the dribble.
Sarr was fouled on the ensuing fast break and got to the free throw line. That’s around when the M-V-P chants began at Capital One Arena. It was funny to hear a small group crowning him at first, Sarr said, but the cry soon echoed throughout the building.
“It was just great vibes,” he said.
Washington fans had roared the chant before — sometimes for visiting stars but for Wizards talents, too. Jordan Poole received some of that praise last year.
But this was the first time they’d done so for one of the homegrown products of this rebuild, the first time they had the chance to hail a player emerging into a building block that — if a lot goes right over the next few years — could spark many more wins.
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