Wizards' Alex Sarr Earns Glowing Praise From Cavaliers Coach

Noticeable Shifts in His Game

Sarr's confidence to try beating his post matchup one-on-one and going up strong has skyrocketed, as the Cleveland Cavaliers saw firsthand entering the weekend. They still won with ease, 148-115, but not without another 20-piece from the rapidly-improving rebuilding centerpiece in Washington.

"I just think he's taken another jump," Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said following the win. "It seems like he can create a little bit more...if you pressure him, he can go by you, make you pay. I didn’t feel like he had that last year, but the skill level has gotten better. My prediction is he’s gonna be an All-Star in this league."

Atkinson has plenty of experience with Sarr already, even if the prospect's only ever played for Washington since joining the NBA in last summer's NBA Draft.

He's spent time as a chief assistant on the French national team during his downtime, memorably participating in the squad's run to the Gold Medal Game in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and they've poured considerable assets into developing Sarr and fellow young Wizard Bilal Coulibaly for internationally competitive purposes.

The reigning Coach of the Year winner is plenty familiar with players within Sarr's niche as tall, skinny centers with multi-level scoring, versatile defense and the ball-handling to occasionally set up offense, even if those sorts of prospects are extremely rare and usually only available as draft prizes. Evan Mobley got to spend last season under Atkinson's tutelage and ended their first campaign together with an award of his own in the form of a Defensive Player of the Year win.

Increasingly-Tough-to-Ignore Comparisons

Sarr was loosely compared to Mobley last season, but those All-Star flashes were just that: flashes. Now that he's taken noticeable offseason steps, Atkinson is all-in on co-signing the parallels between the pair of promising young bigs.

"Fair comparison. A lot of similarities, both very skilled, really good defenders," Atkinson said. "The sky's the limit for Alex, and he's gonna get all that international experience to improve himself there. [The Wizards] found themselves one."

Mobley, too, went towards the top of his own respective draft three years ahead of Sarr, and the Wizards' ability to continue producing as he continues ascending on opposing scouting reports and despite few teammates capable of providing meaningful help, will keep the momentum building on the hype train.

Not much has gone right for the team through the first three weeks, but Sarr's early signs of growth easily make for the most inspiring jump that any Wizards have made to start year three of the rebuild.