The Atlanta Hawks shockingly won the lottery and now own the rights to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
When they are eventually on the clock, assuming that they keep the pick, the Hawks are expected to select Alex Sarr from the Perth Wildcats in Australia’s NBL. While this class may lack an obvious star player, the 19-year-old big is widely considered the most likely candidate to hear his name called first.
Sarr is a strong defensive prospect who showed some promising shooting touch while playing for the Wildcats. Considering that he is also originally from France, if he goes No. 1 overall, comparisons to Victor Wembanyama are only natural.
But even though he is the first player selected in this draft, comparing the two players is entirely unfair.
We are starting to see some of those trickle in already, though putting these players in the same conversation isn’t the right call. It starts Sarr off with very unrealistic expectations and sets him up for disappointment.
For one, Wembanyama is one of the most uniquely physically gifted players the NBA has ever seen. At 7-foot-3 in socks with an estimated wingspan of 8-foot, the NBA’s Rookie of the Year is beyond a rarity just on his physical measurements.
Meanwhile, Sarr officially measured at 6-foot-11.75 in socks with a 7-foot-4.5 wingspan. That is obviously impressive but a bit more prototypical.
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It isn’t worth going over all of the similarities and differences between the two players, but most notably, Wembanyama was the most obvious No. 1 pick since LeBron James. He would have gone as the top prospect any year.
Sarr is probably who Atlanta would select if the draft were tomorrow, but he is far from a lock with the first pick. In many other drafts, he would likely not be as close to a consensus at No. 1 overall as he is now. Even this year, there are several other candidates that could actually leapfrog him on draft night.
Let both of these young players develop naturally on their own timelines without putting them side by side. It will be more fair to both of them that way.
