The Washington Wizards made the move to land Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick in last offseason's NBA Draft.
Sarr, was rumored to be the favorite for the top overall pick entering the draft process, however his lack of interest playing for the Atlanta Hawks led to the French product falling one pick later to the Wizards.
In Summer League, the French product's play warranted a sign of concern for both fans of the Wizards, and the teams front office after the young forward put together arguably one of the worst performances of the summer from not only any lottery pick in recent memory, but in Summer League as a whole.
However, when the preseason began, the tide seemed to turn with the thoughts surrounding Sarr's play, especially after he was able to showcase his versatility on the defensive end. The 19-year-old carries his new found confidence into the regular season where he's managed to show promising flashes all season.
Sarr managed to win the Rookie of the Month award for the month of December which alone proved to be an encouraging sign of his development. And while, the 7-footer has all the tools to be a superstar in this league, there's still a way to go for him to take that next leap.
Alex Sarr has to find consistency to be a superstar for the Wizards
As mentioned above, Sarr has shown flashes of what he could become as he continues to develop with the rest of the Wizards young core. However, in that sentence, the word "flashes" is the key word that stands out.
The rookie has shown that he has the skillset to be a dominant two-way player, but his lack of consistency has been the one thing hindering his ability to take those steps as his rookie campaign continues.
Sarr is averaging 11.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists on the season, while shooting 39.7% from field goal range and 30.7% from three. On the other end of the court, the versatile forward is averaging 1.6 blocks and just under one steal per game with 0.7.
At 19, Sarr has plenty of time to develop his game to take the steps the Wizards' brass hopes he will be able to as their rebuild continues, but he'll reach that superstar level until he can prove that he can put together consistent games on a nightly basis.
When you look at stars that share a comp to Sarr like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Anthony Davis, these stars show consistency on a nightly basis. For the Wizards young cornerstone to reach that level, he'll need to be able to put together the same reliable outings.