The 7-Foot French Center Is Set to Be Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks With the First Pick of the 2024 NBA Draft

Alexandre Sarr is the Closest Prospect to Victor WembanyamaAlex Sarr #20 | Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

A Freak of Nature 👽

He’s not quite Victor Wembanyama’s height but shares some athletic traits…

The NBA draft is coming up soon; sadly, there isn’t nearly as much excitement as last year. The reason for last year’s hype was largely thanks to Victor Wembanyama. The French phenom was widely considered one of the greatest prospects ever and was taken No. 1 by the San Antonio Spurs.

 

This year, we might have another Frenchman be the No. 1 pick in Alexandre Sarr, per NBA rumors. The 7-footer was projected to go to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 1 in a recent mock draft by FOX Sports and he’s gaining some momentum to go first. He’s not quite Victor Wembanyama’s height but shares some athletic traits.

 

Sarr should be a good defender and has a lot of potential. He’d make a lot of sense for the Hawks. They need a good big man to complement one of their star guards in NBA games. This is a very weak draft and it’s possible Sarr wouldn’t have even been a top-10 pick last year if he was in that class. That doesn’t mean he can’t be an effective player at the NBA level.

 

Europeans Are Starting to Dominate the NBA

If Sarr is the first overall pick, it will be the first time in NBA history that Europeans were the No. 1 picks in back-to-back years. It’s a further sign that Europe is starting to dig its claws into the NBA.

Nikola Jokic is European and is the reigning MVP while Luka Doncic just led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals and is one of the best players in the world. Victor Wembanyama’s stats as a rookie were incredible and he might be on track to be one of the best players in the league.

 

It makes sense why the NBA is valuing European players. They play as professionals at much younger ages and are more ready for the NBA games when they get drafted. Plus, they are typically very skilled whereas a lot of American players rely on athleticism.

If Sarr is a star player, it’ll only add to the value of drafting European players.