Alexandre Dam Sarr ( , ; born 26 April 2005) is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He plays the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions. Sarr played for the French youth national team and the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) prior to being selected second overall by the Wizards in the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

. He is the younger brother of basketball player Olivier Sarr.

Early life

Sarr was born on 26 April 2005 in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, France. He grew up in a family of basketball players, initially in Bordeaux and then later

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. He started playing basketball at the age of four. In 2019, Sarr joined the Spanish club

Real Madrid Baloncesto Real Madrid Baloncesto (English: Royal Madrid Basketball) is a Spanish professional basketball club that was founded in 1931, as a division of Real Madrid CF. They play domestically in the Liga ACB, and internationally in the EuroLeague. They a ...

and played two seasons for their youth team.

Professional career

Overtime Elite (2021–2023)

In 2021, Sarr moved to the United States to join the newly established

Overtime Elite Overtime Elite is a basketball league for 16–20-year-olds, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The league is owned and operated by Overtime and was founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner. History Overtime launched the Overtime Elite basketball leagu ...

league in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, securing him an alternative professional pathway with a guaranteed minimum salary of at least $100,000 per year. He played two seasons at Overtime Elite, the first with Team Overtime and the second with YNG Dreamerz. He earned second-team All-OTE honours in 2022–23.

Perth Wildcats (2023–2024)

On 9 May 2023, Sarr signed with the

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), joining the team as part of the league's ''Next Stars'' program for the 2023–24 season. He entered the season as a highly touted draft prospect. On 28 December, he sustained a hip strain in a game against the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

and subsequently missed the next four weeks. On 27 January 2024, he recorded a new career record, scoring 18 points and five blocks in a 103–91 win over the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

. He finished the season with averages of 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.9 assists in 17 minutes per game, helping Perth reach the NBL play-off semifinals.

Washington Wizards (2024–present)

Sarr declared for the

on 12 April 2024. On 26 June, he was selected second overall by the

. Sarr was picked alongside fellow Frenchmen

Zaccharie Risacher Zaccharie Risacher ( ; ; born 8 April 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the first overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2024 NBA draft. E ...

(drafted first overall by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

) and

Tidjane Salaün Tidjane Abdoul Salaün (; born 10 August 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional career Cholet Basket Salaün began playing for Cholet Basket's youth te ...

(drafted sixth by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

), making France the first foreign nation to have at least three players picked in the top 10 spots of any NBA draft. On 6 July, he signed his rookie contract with the Wizards. Sarr averaged 5.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in four Summer League games and had two points, five rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in his NBA debut on 24 October. He was named December's Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. On 15 March 2025, he recorded a career-high 34 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 126–123 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, becoming the youngest player in Wizards' history with a 30-plus-point game. He was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

and finished fourth in overall Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner

Stephon Castle Stephon Javonte Castle (born November 1, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, winning a national championshi ...

, and

Jaylen Wells Jaylen Wells (born August 26, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Sonoma State Seawolves and the Washington State Cougars. ...

National team career

In 2021, Sarr debuted for the French junior national team and helped them win the FIBA U16 European Challengers. He helped France earn bronze at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and silver at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 67 , , 67 , , 27.1 , , .394 , , .308 , , .679 , , 6.5 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 67 , , 67 , , 27.1 , , .394 , , .308 , , .679 , , 6.5 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 13.0

NBL

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .516 , , .286 , , .710 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.5 , , 9.4

Personal life

Sarr is of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese descent. His father Massar is a former professional basketball player from Senegal, while his older brother

Olivier Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popula ...

played for the NBA's

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

References

External links

*
Perth Wildcats profileOvertime Elite profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarr, Alex 2005 births 21st-century French sportsmen Black French sportspeople Centers (basketball) French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Living people NBA players from France Overtime Elite players Perth Wildcats players Power forwards Basketball players from Bordeaux Sportspeople from Toulouse Washington Wizards draft picks Washington Wizards players