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Longtime NBA chronicler Bill Simmons recently shared his lofty projection for Washington Wizards rookie Alex Sarr.
Simmons did a re-draft of the 2024 NBA draft during Sunday's episode of his podcast. The former ESPN analyst picked San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle and Atlanta Hawks swingman Zaccharie Risacher as his first and second picks, respectively.
Bill had Sarr, who originally went second to the Wizards, under consideration for his third overall pick in the re-draft. While debating between Sarr and Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, Simmons revealed his thoughts on what Sarr could ultimately become (9:29 mark).
"I also saw Sarr a week ago," Simmons told his guest Ryen Russillo. "I'm like, 'Jesus Christ, this guy is Serge Ibaka with three-point range. This looks great.'"
Simmons probably watched Sarr's career-high performance against the Denver Nuggets on March 15. Sarr dropped 34 points and hit five three-pointers in that one. While he only had one block in the contest, Sarr more than held his own against Nikola Jokic in what was a stunning 126-123 upset win for the Wizards.
Despite what he said about Sarr's potential ceiling, Simmons still went with Buzelis third and had Sarr fourth.
If Sarr comes anywhere close to Ibaka's impact on the defensive end, it would be a huge win for the Wizards. Ibaka led the NBA in blocks twice and finished top-4 in Defensive Player of the Year voting three times. He was also a vital part of the Toronto Raptors' championship run in 2019.
Sarr's 5.0% block rate is about the same as Ibaka's 5.5% block rate when the latter was a rookie. The Frenchman leads all rookies with his 1.5 blocks per game, which also ranks in the top 20 league-wide.
While Ibaka did shoot a decent 35.9% from three for his career, he averaged fewer than two attempts per contest. Through 55 games as a rookie, Sarr is already taking five triples per game. Since the All-Star break, Sarr's been hitting them at an above-average 37.5% clip. Beyond the three-point shooting, Sarr has also flashed offensive potential that far exceeds anything Ibaka showed during his 14 seasons in the NBA.
There's still no guarantee Sarr can put it all together. But the ceiling for the Wizards' youngster could be even higher than what Simmons predicted.
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