The Washington Wizards have a lot riding on the development of last year's No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr.
Heading into last offseason, many viewed the French product as the top prospect available in the NBA Draft.
Fortunately for Washington, Sarr's unwillingness to play for the Atlanta Hawks led to the big man falling to the Wizards giving fans hope that they snuck out with an elite prospect in what was viewed as a particulary weak draft class.
Throughout summer league play last offseason, expectations were tempered in what could be argued one of the worst summer performances of any top pick in recent memory.
However, things seemingly turned around when the regular season arrived and Sarr began to show potential to be an impact player the Wizards desperately needed.
Offensively, there are some areas of Sarr's game that spell disappointment and the main area of concern was his inefficiency inside the post, where it was expected he could have the most impact with his 7-foot frame.
Sarr's poor field goal percentage (39.4% FG) and lack of production doing "big man things" put an underwhelming outlook on his potential at times.
Despite that, what he showed defensively throughout the season and especially down the stretch of his rookie campaign far outweighs his offensive lapses.
The versatile forward is a dynamic defender and his ability to protect the rim at an elite level make him an intriguing prospect for the Wizards to build around moving forward.
Ending his rookie season averaging 1.5 blocks per game, it was clear that the 20-year-old's calling card was at an NBA-level was defense.
So far through summer league play, Sarr has done nothing but support that claim proving to be a more than polished shot blocker who can consistently disrupt the game as a rim protector.
After racking up 8 blocks against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, Wizards fans began to truly believe that they could have a generational defender on their hands in Sarr.
With his development continuing in D.C. on a team that he can allow for him to play extended minutes to perfect his craft, the sky is the limit for him to become one of the best two-way players in the league.
Considering his defensive instincts, outstanding timing and enormous wing span, there's real belief that Sarr could become a 3 block per game guy from The Athletic's NBA Daily group.
Based off of what Sarr has shown, it's fair to say that's become a realistic possibility.