Sarr becomes a Wizard in history-making night

The inaugural Wildcats Next Star was selected by the Washington Wizards with pick two in the NBA Draft at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre after a stunning debut season in the NBL.

An emotional Sarr paid tribute to his older brother and OKC Thunder player Olivier, and the rest of his close family, after becoming a Wizard in a heart-warming moment for the French teenager.

“My Dad, he always loved basketball and he looked at basketball — he never was happy after one of my games,” Sarr said.

“He always had something to say for me to improve on it. I think that’s what made me and my brother good players. I can’t thank them enough for this."

The previously highest pick out of the NBA was LaMelo Ball, taken with the third selection of the 2020 draft.

Speaking at the club's NBA Draft watch party at The Sporting Globe in Belmont, Wildcats head coach John Rillie was full of pride after Sarr's announcement, praising him on making the most of his time in Perth.

“It’s a great day for Alex and his family, certainly a great day for the Perth Wildcats, it’s great to see the emotion … you can see what it means to him and his family,” Rillie said.

“Partly why you coach is to be in moments like that and what it means to Alex.

“The Sarr family put trust in us, but his teammates bought in and believed in him and showed great faith in him. It was really a great marriage and today was the pinnacle of that marriage.

“He was a great player for us, but we kind of just let it evolve at a rate and he had tremendous growth. He came in as like a top 20 and to go number two, that’s great.

“A great reflection on how we utilised his time here.”