Alex Sarr Finally Accepts Premature End to Wizards Season

The Washington Wizards have spent the last few months perfecting the art of quietly pulling the plug of their star players' seasons. Just as how the franchise has prioritized injury management of Trae Young, Anthony Davis and Kyshawn George over the last month, Alex Sarr, too, has been finally eased into an early end to his 2025-26 campaign.

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe confirmed so himself, with Sarr's lingering toe concerns considered enough of a pass for the final weekend of Washington's rapidly-closing season. Only two games remain, and he'd already missed his last half-dozen outings before Keefe finally made the call to preserve his young centerpiece.

Wizards HC Brian Keefe says it’s “unlikely” Alex Sarr plays again this season as he continues to deal with a left toe injury.
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) April 9, 2026

Now, Keefe's language is important here. "Unlikely" to see the season through isn't the same as an official shutdown; George would know, having spent a month on the Wizards' shelf with an elbow injury he sustained in early March, and he was only deemed done for the spring in the final week of the regular season.

Young and Davis have each presented little-to-no buzz about any respective comebacks bids over the coming days. While the former is taking his quadriceps contusion and overall back pain "conservatively," Davis is still considered to be ramping up from a hand ailment he's been tagged with since he was still a Dallas Maverick.

With Sarr's addition to the already-mile-long injury report in D.C., expect an already injury-riddled Wizards lineup to look that much thinner as his team plays out the clock. And with what the group has to gain by losing, he won't be the last member of the locker room to check out, either.

Following Sarr's Lead

For as strong as the center began his sophomore season, committing to his specified dedication to take more balanced shots from closer range, Sarr's lack of consistent intensity and willingness to rely on his streaky outside jumper tainted the back half of his strong showing. 17.2 points on nearly 50% from the field before the All-Star Break looks much better than what he managed to cobble together in the games since, a stretch in which he missed 20/27 matchups and dropping to 11.3 nightly points on 38.3% from the floor and a higher 3-point rate that disturbingly called back to his rocky rookie year.

Washington Wizards Center Alex Sarr — Mar 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) attempts a basket against the Boston Celtics during the first half at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Sarr's worrying attendance numbers would suggest that he may not have been healthy or mobile enough to maintain his hot two-way start, the sort of issue that's quietly nagged Washington's young corps for months. Tre Johnson is believed to be going through similar struggles, himself bogged down by poor efficiency as the season's waned.

15 missed games may have been annoying for fans to deal with during Sarr's rookie run, but that's nothing compared to the 34 absences that he'll have accumulated by the postseason. As entertaining as his versatile defense and two block-per-game average was, he'll fall well short of eligibility for either of the league's All-Defensive teams, let alone the Defensive Player of the Year.

The seven-footer's breakout didn't end as planned, but he'll still trek into the offseason with a much better reputation than what he was stuck with this time in 2025. And with another premium draft pick expected to round out the Wizards' platoon of prospects, he has good odds to meaningfully factor into a halfway-decent equation next year, when the fans can hope that this not-so-subtle wave of excuses won't be required to get the NBA's tanking police off of their back.

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