Wizards' Alex Sarr Remains Far Away from DPOY Recognition

The Washington Wizards' star defender has a long way to go before he can inch closer to esteemed positional royalty.

Nov 13, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reaches for the ball while defending Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (20) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Defensive Player of the Year results were announced early this week, the first of the upcoming slew of NBA honors and superlatives to be rolled out over the remainder of the postseason. And though the Washington Wizards and the less-then-stellar 17-65 record they'd accumulated over the last six months severely limited the odds that any of their contributors would receive positive league-wide recognition, there remain a few lingering lessons to take away from the first reveal of the bunch.

Victor Wembanyama didn't just win the sport's top defensive honor; he ran away with the award in the trophy's first-ever unanimous win, seizing each and every first-place vote out of the 100 media members who had voices in the results.

OG Anunoby received a 2nd place vote and 3rd place vote for Defensive Player of the Year. Full vote: pic.twitter.com/GjzaoZhKtH

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 20, 2026

Peers like former Rookie of the Year rival Chet Holmgren and old mentor Rudy Gobert could barely put up fights against the San Antonio Spurs center, a 7'4 alien who led the NBA in blocks per game with 3.1 nightly swats for the third time in as many professional seasons. As if he wasn't ever-present enough, he similarly dominated in total blocks with 197 on the campaign despite missing 18 matchups.

The mythic prodigy is right where he should be by this point in this potentially-illustrious career, anchoring one of the NBA's premier contenders with unassailable, physical proof of his excellence at just 22 years of age.

Someone like Alex Sarr can see the standard, but the young Wizard has a long way before he can even think of realistically closing the gap between himself and the game's wunderkind.

Balancing Expectations with Fairness

Asking Sarr, a mere mortal, from replicating Wembanyama's trajectory is a tough ask, even if the Wizards' cornerstone prospect does have the tools to turn his rebuilding operation into something that closer-resembles the Spurs.

He's about as close as this league has to a budget Wembanyama, which says just as much about the newly-minted Defensive Player of the Year as it does for his fellow French countryman. Sarr averaged the second-most blocks across this past season with two per game, but that's still a long way from the video game numbers that Wembanyama produced out west.

Dec 18, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles against Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (20) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Notice that Sarr didn't make an appearance on the final Defensive Player of the Year candidate tally. He was even less available than Wembanyama, missing nearly half of the Wizards' 2025-26 outings with 48 appearances since the fall, deeming him ineligible for such festivities.

And as incredible as it could be to watch Sarr glide between holding his ground on the perimeter and protecting Washington's rim, his Wizards were a long ways away from the 62-win Spurs. While San Antonio's defensive rating ranked out as a third-best 110.4 points allowed per 100 possessions, the Wizards' mark of 121.5 was dead-last.

This obviously goes well beyond Sarr's contributions, as he was tasked with warding off more missed assignments and lackadaisical backcourt stoppers as any defensive anchor, but that's no way to win the hearts of voters. While he, too, improved through another season of his young career, many outsiders still think of Sarr's inefficient shooting lowlights and the tanking situation he's been stuck in when it's time to compare franchise faces.

The two couldn't be much more differently perceived around basketball. While Wembanyama oozes with charismatic quotes and an excitement for all expectations foisted upon generational prospects, Sarr's remained quiet since joining the bigs, quietly learning to identify with the slow-burn operation he's a part of compared to the beloved regularly-winning Spurs.

He's yet to earn more than an All-Rookie First Team nod while Wembanyama comfortably seized the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy and made his All-Star debut by this point in Sarr's career. Context must be taken into account, yes, as the two involved teams have enjoyed completely-opposite draft lottery luck over recent years, but there's a reason why stacking the talented centers up against one another isn't as seriously considered as it was during their respective drafts.

Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) looks up during a free throw against the Miami Heat during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

No one to ever play high-level basketball can really compare with Wembanyama, making things especially tough on Sarr as he attempts to guide Washington out of the mud while chasing a slightly-more gifted version of his already-rare shooting/shot-blocking archetype. Even if he were to return to the regularly-available reputation he'd earned as a rookie, the path to matching the star Spur is set entering the Wizards' long offseason, and it'll require full maximization of Sarr's instincts and surroundings to reach.

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