Alexandre Sarr replace LeBron James on a four years contract with …
The 2024 NBA Draft does not include Victor Wembanyama. The likelihood of any player in the race to be selected as the first overall choice surpassing the achievements of previous No. 1 picks like Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, and Zion Williamson is low. On June 26 at Barclays Center, Cade Cunningham is a safe bet to be more valuable than whoever hears their name called first thanks to his mostly underappreciated breakout third season.
It scarcely follows that there isn’t a player available who could significantly change a team’s future success, even if there isn’t a generational prospect or even a foundational star in this year’s draft class. The number one pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has become a clear-cut favorite as the playoffs draw near and the offseason draws near.
Perth Wildcats big man Alexandre Sarr currently owns -300 odds to come off the board first in late June, per BetOnline. No other 2024 draft prospect has better than +200 odds, the line on fellow Frenchman Zacharie Risacher, a wing who plays for JL Bourg in France.
Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, Serbian guard Nikola Topic and UConn center Donovan Clingan are the only other players with odds to be chosen first at +1000 or better. Rob Dillingham, Sheppard’s backcourt partner with the Wildcats, G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis and Colorado wing Cody Williams round out BetOnline top-eight of the prospects most likely to be chosen with the No. 1 pick.
Standing 7’1 and approximately 220 pounds with a 7’5 wingspan, Sarr boasts a mouth-watering physical profile for bigs in the modern NBA. He moves like a player seven or eight inches shorter, showing off rare all-around dexterity, explosive leaping ability and the lateral movement needed to switch onto guards defensively without negative recourse. The 18-year-old still needs to get stronger and add weight, but that physical development should come down the line.
The consensus top defender in this year’s draft class, Sarr’s ceiling will ultimately depend on his role on the other side of the ball. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Evan Mobley are common comparisons due to Sarr’s enviable blend of size and functional athleticism defensively. He’ll be an impact defender the moment he gets an early grasp of NBA concepts, shutting off the rim and keeping the ball in front of him in primary and help roles.
But what could truly separate Sarr from a suped-up seven-foot defender like Mobley—and certainly Nic Claxton, another physical peer—is whether his skill catches up to his tools. Jackson is a more versatile offensive weapon than Mobley and Claxton at this point, able to knock down open threes, take his man off the bounce and score with his back to the basket. In time, it wouldn’t be shocking if Sarr becomes that type of versatile secondary scoring option, potential progress that would more than justify his selection at No. 1 overall given what he’s set to provide defensively.
