NBA
Who is Alex Sarr? French prospect officially declares for the 2024 NBA draft
The French youngster has a long career ahead of him and his near future points to a big part in the 2024 NBA draft.
Alex Sarr, a French centre playing with the Perth Wildcats of the Basketball League of Australia (NBL), is one of the top prospects outside of college basketball or the G League. The player, while appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today show, announced that he will apply for the 2024 NBA Draft.
“I had a great year playing pro ball in the NBL. My game improved a lot and I grew as a person,” Sarr said. “I’m ready for the next step so it’s obvious that I will apply for the Draft. I’m thankful for the year I had in the NBL with the Perth Wildcats.”
How tall is Alex Sarr?
He stands at 2.16 m or 7ft 1 inches, and was born in the French city of Bourdeux on April 26, 2005. Internationally, Sarr has played for France’s U17 and U19 teams in the last two World Cups and has been key to their bronze and silver medals.
What is Alex Sarr’s points record?
The 18-year-old basketball player spent last season in the NBL thanks to the Next Stars programme , which aims to gives the chance for athletes to complete the year out of high school required by the NBA to apply for the Draft. During that time he averaged 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots.
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How many players have gone through the NBL’s Next Stars program prior to the NBA?
The NBL established Next Stars in March 2018 and since then seven players have been selected in the NBA college draft process.
The 2020 NBA Draft coincided with the inclusion of two great players who went through the NBL’s Next Stars: Lamelo Ball and RJ Hampton. The former was part of the Illawarra Hawks and ended up as the third overall selection thanks to the Charlotte Hornets while the latter went as high as the 24th overall selection after his stint with the New Zealand Breakers.
A year later, the star was guard Josh Giddey, who shone with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia before making the jump to the NBA via the sixth pick of the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Ousmane Dieng had the option to play in the NCAA and the Ignite of the G League, but preferred to play with the New Zealand Breakers during the 2021-22 season before being selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft by the OKC Thunder.
Frenchman Hugo Besson and Australian Luke Travers were also drafted, but have yet to play in the NBA. Ryan Rupert also played for the Breakers through the Next Stars program and in 2023 was drafted in the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers.