Bonkers Alex Sarr stat highlights potential of newest Washington Wizards cornerstone

When the 2025 NBA All-Rookie teams get announced, there is a chance Alex Sarr won't be on them. That would be a mistake.

The knocks against the Washington Wizards' 19-year-old are pretty standard. He is too inefficient! He doesn't have great touch around the rim! Or when dealing with contact! He ranked outside the top 90 in total post-ups!

So on and so forth. The list goes on.

But getting caught up on the efficiency and usage of rookies rings too hollow. First-year players are up against steep learning curves. Sarr was no different. If anything, he had it harder because the Wizards did not insulate him. He is one of just eight newbies to clear 1,800 minutes, and didn't have any proven or bonafide floor generals teeing him up.

Sarr's teammates this season ranked in the 33rd percentile of passing quality, and in the 37th percentile of passing efficiency, according to BBall Index. This runs in stark contrast to fellow rookie bigs such as Zach Edey and Yves Missi, though not so much Donovan Clingan. (If you've watched the Portland Trail Blazers offense at all, you totally understand.)

Glomming onto Sarr's extended flashes of impact, improvement, and overall versatility is more important, at least for now. And look, the numbers aren't all bad! In some ways, they're actually historical.

Alex Sarr just claimed a piece of NBA history

Speaking of which, here is every player to clear 100 made threes, 100 assists, and 100 blocks in their rookie season:

• Chet Holmgren (2023-24)
• Victor Wembanyama (2023-24) 
• Alex Sarr (2024-25)

That's it. That's the list. The entire list. An alien from a galaxy far, far away, an Oklahoma City-based skyscraper tapped as a perennial All-NBA candidate if he stays healthy, and Sarr, the oft-overlooked rookie with a future brighter than the raw numbers imply.

Skeptics will note that Holmgren and Wemby spit out their numbers with better efficiency and while propping up glitzier impact metrics. That is fair. Especially when it comes to Wemby. His 2023-24 San Antonio Spurs team wasn't good. He broke basketball anyway.

Holmgren, on the other hand, enjoyed the luxury of headlining safety nets. He still does. That doesn't take away from what he has done, or what he will do. It's just important context.

Team situations are critical. The Wizards are not in position to slowly bring along Sarr, or to spoon-feed him a more streamlined role. He is no worse than the second-most important player to their future. That Sarr delivered even extended pockets of what his highest-end outcome might look like is a feat unto itself.

The best has yet to come from Sarr

Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Sarr showcased so much of what made him a No. 1 overall pick candidate last join, and why the Wizards ultimately rolled with him at No. 2.

Sure, the interior craft and touch need work. That will come with time, and added mass. (#SummerMuscleWatch2025, baby!) But Sarr more than occasionally busted out operable touch from the perimeter, including from distance. He had a stretch leading into the New Year during which he verged on lights out from distance. It changed the way (some) defenses guarded him.

This says nothing of the passing—oh, the passing. Sarr can dime up out of short rolls, from standstills, and on live dribbles, including while running the floor off grab-and-gos. His table-setting is atypical for a seven-footer, particularly one considered more of a play-finisher.

Then, of course, there is the defensive disruption. Sarr remains too slight to act as a deterrent, but his shot-blocking instincts are on point. He placed in the 95th percentile of the share of opponent looks contested at the rim while on the floor, and finished in the 76th percentile of rim points saved per 75 possessions.

These are all encouraging indicators. And when joined together, they helped place him in some patently bonkers rookie-year company.

Does this mean he will inevitably ascend to, if not transcend, the peak of Holmgren or Wembanyama? Absolutely not. But it does lend merit to Sarr's trajectory. The Wizards tabbed him as a cornerstone last June on draft night. Nearly one year later, they should have no regrets.

Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.