Following his rookie season, Alex Sarr seemed to be the butt of the joke.
The former No. 2 overall pick struggled to do things that most 7-foot playmakers in the NBA do with ease and because of that, many people were counting him out from the jump.
It didn't help that his Summer League struggles already put the idea of a draft bust in peoples minds before he ever hit the floor in the regular season.
There's no denying that Sarr has his fair share of rookie woes, but as a young player coming from overseason, early struggles should have been expected.
However, even through the early struggles, the big man showed plenty of flashes on the defensive end that made it clear his potential to be a two-way star in this league was real.
To do that, Sarr would have to figure out his offensive struggles, which alone could have been courtesy of the rook's failure to adjust to NBA speed.
Coming from international play, many of Sarr's issues seemed to be related to the forward playing too fast and at times allowing his mistakes to play a mental toll on his game.
Nonetheless, when Sarr was playing at his best, he proved that his skillset could be best utilized by the Wizards playing him in a stretch five role.
On Sunday, Sarr proved exactly that and more.
In 17 minutes of play, Sarr looked exactly as Wizards fans hoped he could 've, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 4/5 from field goal range including knocking down his lone attempt from beyond the arc.
Sarr looked confident in his return to play after suffering a calf injury that ended his offseason early while playing for Team France during FIBA EuroBasket play.
Not only did he look confident in his calf, but he looked confident in his role on the team.
The French product finally looks comfortable on an NBA floor and his ability to slow the game down in year two only adds fuel to the fire of a potential breakout season for the sophomore player.
Considering the talent at his disposal, everything is set up for Sarr to emerge as a cornerstone player for the Wizards this coming season and if his preseason debut on Sunday showed anything; it's that the big man isn't heading into year two half stepping.
Instead, Sarr is ready to prove the Wizards right and showcase that he's one of the best young two-way players in the league.