The Washington Wizards have firmly backed center Alex Sarr by ending their pursuit of a trade for an All-NBA big. It's a bold decision considering Sarr is a second-year player on an 11-34 team, but the No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft has made a powerful statement in 2025-26.
With Sarr thoroughly establishing himself as a player the Wizards can build with, if not around, he's already cemented his status as the franchise cornerstone his critics swore he couldn't be.
Sarr struggled to adapt to the pace of the NBA game in 2024-25, ultimately shooting just 39.4 percent from the field. In turn, many felt vindicated for stating that the Wizards whiffed on their pick. He's built upon the early signs of defensive potential, however, and has turned a corner on offense in 2025-26.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Wizards are so confident in the legitimacy of Sarr's leap that they're walking away from pursuing All-NBA big man Domantas Sabonis.
"In addition, the Wizards view Alex Sarr as their center of the future, league sources told HoopsHype, and despite brief exploratory conversations surrounding Sabonis before acquiring Trae Young, Washington is not inclined to trade for Sabonis at this time."
Washington has every reason to be aggressive before the trade deadline, but its view on Sarr is indicative of the undeniable progress he's made during his second season.
Alex Sarr reaches franchise center status as Wizards pass on trading for Domantas Sabonis
Sarr has been a revelation during the 2025-26 season. He's currently averaging 17.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 offensive boards, 2.8 assists, 2.2 blocks, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 three-point field goal made per game on .498/.343/.712 shooting.
That's a massive collective upgrade over a 2024-25 campaign during which he averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 offensive boards, 2.4 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.7 steals, and 1.6 three-point field goals made per contest on .394/.308/.679 shooting.
Though Sarr converted more three-point field goals per game a season ago, the decrease in volume is actually a direct reason he's improved so thoroughly. His shot selection suits his game better in 2025-26 than it did a season ago, with his three-point attempts dropping from 5.1 to 2.9 per outing.
It's a clear sign of the game slowing down for him, as well as how much more comfortable he is with operating within the three-point line and in traffic.
Alex Sarr is improving in every phase and defending at shocking level
Sarr shot 45.4 percent on 7.3 two-point field goal attempts per game in 2024-25 and is up to 53.8 percent on 11.4 in 2025-26. He's shooting 69.1 percent within five feet of the basket, which is up from 60.6 percent in 2024-25. He's also improved from 30.0 percent to 42.6 percent when shooting from 10-to-14 feet.
Sarr is even shooting 35.4 percent on catch-and-shoot threes compared to 30.9 percent in 2024-25—and yet, it's not even his offense that's been most impressive.
Sarr ranks second behind Victor Wembanyama at 2.2 blocks per game. He also ranks third in the NBA in rim disruption, and places in the 97th percentile in rim protection, the 98th percentile in screener rim defense, the 91st percentile in screener mobile defense, and the 73rd percentile in perimeter isolation defense.
Already establishing himself as one of the most versatile defensive players in the NBA, as well as a steadily improving offensive talent, Sarr is every bit the franchise center the Wizards believe him to be.