Wizards Coach Brian Keefe On Alex Sarr: He Can Read The Game

August 16, 2024

The Washington Wizards selected center Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and coach Brian Keefe said there’s a reason for that.

Granted, Sarr struggled mightily shooting the ball at the Las Vegas Summer League — even finishing 0-of-15 from the floor on one occasion. You read that right. Sarr took 15 shots in a summer league game. He missed them all.

But forget all that, Keefe seemed to suggest.

“He’s got the ability to be a three-level scorer at some point,” Keefe told Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. “But one thing that has stood out to us is his ability to see the game and read the game. He’s a good passer, so we want the ball in his hands to explore those opportunities for him to make plays for himself and others.”

Keefe and Sarr are linked in the sense that they are both entering their first full season with the Wizards in their current roles. Keefe, 48, served as interim coach last season. Now, he has the job on a full-time basis.

A big part of his job description will be to bring out the best in Sarr. The Wizards have also added some veterans alongside the likes of forward Kyle Kuzma and guard Jordan Poole — signing former New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas and trading for guard Malcolm Brogdon. As one scout told Hoops Wire, Washington now has “some adults in the room.”

Meanwhile, Keefe said one goal is to take elements he learned during his time as an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs, and apply them to the Wizards.

“Just how to care about people, how to treat people, how to bring it every day. That environment being with the Spurs, watching how they went about their business. ‘Pound the rock,’ as they used to call it there. No skipping steps, working hard every day, treating people well,” Keefe told Hughes. “The professionalism that you learn from them and the players there are tremendous lessons as a young person in this business.”