Alex Sarr film study: ‘You’ve got to be a little bit different to be great’

WASHINGTON — Watch these seven video clips and you will see why Washington Wizards players, coaches and executives feel so excited about Alex Sarr, the team’s rapidly improving 20-year-old big man.

As the NBA has transformed into a game of pace and space, teams now covet a new set of attributes for modern-day big men. On defense, do they have the size, agility and feel for the game to deter shots at the rim and switch onto opposing perimeter players? On offense, can they handle the basketball, pass, shoot from distance and put pressure on the rim?

Most NBA bigs possess a few of those abilities.

As these highlights show, Sarr possesses all of them.

On a recent morning at the Wizards’ practice facility, Sarr participated in a game day shootaround, walked into a room near the team’s practice courts and plopped his lanky 7-foot-1 frame onto a folding metal chair to watch these sequences on a laptop with The Athletic and describe his perspective during each play.

On a different morning, Adam Caporn, the Wizards assistant coach who works most closely with Sarr, analyzed the same sequences for The Athletic.

Their comments offer fascinating insight into Sarr’s approach to the game and a rare look into the Wizards’ approach to developing Sarr, who is in his second NBA season and has been selected to participate again in the Rising Stars showcase at All-Star weekend.

Sarr has made strides with his all-around game. On defense, his added experience and strength have translated into better shot-blocking, rebounding and anticipation of opponents’ tactics. On offense, he has grown more comfortable and more aggressive attacking the rim. His stats confirm his improvement. He’s averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Entering Tuesday, Sarr’s 2.0 blocks per game ranked second in the league.

“We have this special young player with innate talents, and you’re trying to help him flourish in the context of winning basketball games with your team,” Caporn said.

“People think coaching is so much you giving them the playbook. But really, with special players, you’re observing and learning from them at the same time and helping them flourish with their uniqueness.”

In this piece, The Athletic takes you inside its film session with Sarr and inside its film session with Caporn, letting you learn, from their own words, their perspectives. Their comments have been lightly edited for length. In cases where The Athletic shortened their comments or posed specific follow-up questions about a play, those transitions are denoted by ellipses.

A triple threat

When: Jan. 11, 2026. Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix. What happens: Sarr blocks a shot by the Suns’ Devin Booker, collects the defensive rebound, dribbles upcourt and delivers a bounce pass to Bilal Coulibaly for a fast-break dunk.

Alex Sarr: I’m guarding “DBook.” I know he’s a good shooter overall, so I’m trying to make him drive right and try to meet him at the rim. He knows that I can block his shot, too, so he’s trying to put me “in jail” (by slowing down and keeping me behind him) and back me up a little bit to get his shot off. I just tried to keep my hands up high. I ended up having the block, got the ball back and just pushed it in transition. (I) saw Bilal running and just delivered the bounce pass to him for a dunk. …

Early in my career, that’s something I always have done, when I was with (Overtime Elite) and (playing) in Australia: when I first get a block, try to push the ball. That’s definitely something I’m trying to work on even more, and have it as even more of one of my main skills.

Adam Caporn: We believe in Alex’s versatility defensively. … Alex did a really good job picking Booker up in transition. We are working on improving his footwork on the perimeter to just stay in front of guards for longer (stretches). That sounds easier than it is for someone 20 years old and 7 feet. He does it reasonably well. What I think he does a really good job of there, and has done a good job this season, is he gets that guard off the 3.

Ultimately, he’s trying to create a midrange contested 2, ideally, even though that’s sort of Booker’s strength. …

The rest of our team will, at times, when Alex is involved, ignore team defensive rules and realize that it’s going to be pretty hard to score on him. So they fan out, and Alex does a good job here walling up.

Last year, I think he would gap the ballhandler and be ready to jump, and that would lead to him falling for pump fakes. So we’ve talked more about putting your chest on him, having your hands free and up, continuing to move your feet. … Booker tries to eat up space and wedge him past the basket. Alex keeps his chest on him. The key thing is he gets his hands free. You can see his left hand gets free, too.

The first objective is to get him off the 3-point line. … As (players like) Booker got close to the basket last year, I think Alex would have separated and been ready to jump; that makes you susceptible to pump fakes. This year, he just keeps his chest on him. Alex can’t jump as much (when he keeps his chest on Booker), but he doesn’t have to.

Then, just credit Coach (Brian) Keefe with this: He just encourages Alex, anytime he rebounds it and he feels comfortable, to start the offense and lead the break.

It’s part of what makes him special. It’s the NBA. You’ve got to be a little bit different to be great, and that play there is pretty special. Two dribbles, lead the break. He does see the game well, and this is just more his gifts and his special talent coming through in an environment where it’s encouraged to push those boundaries a little.

‘Good courage’

When: Nov. 5, 2025. Where: TD Garden, Boston. What happens: The Wizards’ Kyshawn George sets a pick on Celtics center Neemias Queta. The Celtics’ Josh Minott, who had been guarding George, goes under the screen, leaving Sarr with space for an open stepback 3-pointer.

Sarr: That play was for Kyshawn to set an inverted pick-and-roll for me so I could drive to the basket on my right. But they ended up going way under and left me wide open on the 3. So I just chose to take one dribble, gather and raise up. …

I feel like I haven’t made a lot of 3-pointers off the dribble. It’s something I’m working on, and I’m trying to grow in my game, too, to become even more of a threat. But it’s definitely something I want to get better at. …

I have, obviously, a lot of freedom. But it just comes with playing the right way. I feel I know what shot is good or bad for our offense, what shot is good or bad for me based on my percentages and where I’m good on the floor. I just try to get to those spots. Obviously, if I take a messed-up shot, Coach will tell me about it, and I’ll go back and understand how much time is left on the clock, why I shouldn’t take that shot.

Caporn: This is pretty exciting because this is a pretty rare ability. He’s playing on the perimeter, in the corner, even though he’s playing center. Boston switches a lot. They’re not switching one-through-five at all times, but one of the ways you can attack switching if you have a versatile player like Alex is you let him handle (the basketball) and you bring small guys in to set the screen. It creates confusion, and people usually switch that. Then, Alex can drive against the smaller defender. You’re hoping people will overreact, and he either scores it or he kicks it back out.

Alex just read this play. We didn’t set this up for him to shoot the 3 off the dribble. But I think it speaks to the environment that Coach Keefe creates. You would observe that play and say, “That’s the right decision.” And Alex has the support and confidence to do it. We work on shots like this, not necessarily thinking that they will happen a lot in games right now. But he’s a special talent, and these abilities to make shots like this — game-winning shots, go-to shots — they do separate players. So I think there’s a lot to this clip.

We set it up for Alex to drive, and the situation was that they didn’t guard him or they made a mistake. They weren’t sure what to do, and he makes a dribble move that looks like a guard, gets on balance and makes a really good shot. …

That’s a wide-open 3 off the dribble, and he’s getting better and better at this sort of thing. We’re working on it in the background. … I think it speaks a lot to the environment Coach Keefe creates and the confidence he gives Alex. But Alex does play with good courage. That’s what I observe. And Alex backs himself. And you need to do that to be a great NBA player, and he’s on his way to doing that.

Versatility to switch

When: Jan. 11, 2026. Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix. What happens: The Suns set a pick on Coulibaly, who was guarding Booker. Sarr switches onto Booker, who eventually drives to the basket for a layup. Sarr recovers and blocks the shot from behind.

Sarr: I’m trying to take away the 3. I get beat by a step, because I was kind of high up and didn’t really slide well. But I was able to recover at the rim on his layup. I was just trying to meet him at the rim. That’s what I usually try to do when they have a step on me: use my length to meet them on the backboard. …

If a player’s in front of me and he has a step on me, and he’s going to get a layup, I feel like I can always block the shot.

Caporn: He’s in his normal matchup here. Throughout the game, part of Alex’s strength is his versatility. We like to change coverages. We’re not doing it randomly. We’re doing it strategically and depending on the opposition and how our matchups are. Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George are on the other players involved in this action, so that’s part of Alex’s switching opportunity. Bilal and Kyshawn are like-sized players. Those guys have some good size, so they can box out (Mark) Williams.

That scenario gives Alex the opportunity to switch here, and I think he does a good job of it. He switches at a level where it’s going to be difficult to shoot the 3. You can feel right here that Booker is sizing him up, and we’re sort of worried he can shoot, and Alex’s hand starts to come up. We call that a “stick hand.” You just let him know, “I’m gonna try and take this 3 away.” We don’t want (Alex) to jump or at least not be first off the floor. …

This is where Alex is good, amongst other areas. He’s intelligent. He’s playing a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Now, Booker’s sizing him up like he’s going to drive, so Alex gets ready to move.

When Booker takes off, Booker is quick, and Alex’s first slide here is not great. He sort of opens up, as we would say. We much prefer two good slides there. But it’s the NBA, these guys are good players, and that’s difficult.

Once Booker gets by him, Alex’s job is just to get the ball at its apex. If that’s another defender, teammates will come help. But with Alex, he’s still in the contest. Guys will miss just knowing he is there. So it’s like basically a case of: “This is your special gift and talent. We want you to play really fundamentally sound, take away the 3 and keep people in front of you and make them score over you. But if they get past you, that’s the time to use that talent. Don’t foul him and try and get it up high.”

‘A big-time play’

When: Jan. 11, 2026. Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix. What happens: Sarr receives a pass at the top of the 3-point arc, prompting the Suns’ Dillon Brooks to close out to take away a 3-point shot. Sarr drives to the rim and, in a sign of his increased aggressiveness as a driver, makes a split-second decision to attack the basket instead of pass. Sarr, who is right-handed, scores on a left-handed layup as he draws a foul on Suns center Mark Williams.

Sarr: I just pick-and-pop there. I see that Dillon Brooks is kind of stunting, but he’s not committing fully to me. So I see a wide-open lane to the rim. I just race my guy and then finish on Mark Williams, who’s a pretty good shot-blocker. I try to keep the ball away from him, and I have to finish with my left. …

That’s something I want to get to even more. But I’ve been working on it a lot, getting more comfortable. It’s all about the reps, really. …

I think he just met me in the air, and he was moving a little bit. So it was a foul, but it wasn’t crazy-physical.

Caporn: … Alex has really improved as a screener, something we’re always trying to get better at. But when he misses the first screen, he re-screens, and with Bub (Carrington)’s ability to shoot the ball off the dribble, that creates a lot of attention. …

Alex just reads his closeout and just attacks. It’s subtle, but I think last year, he didn’t attack with as much ferocity — and understandably. He’s still developing physically. He’s trying to read the defense. There’s a lot going on in the NBA. Against size and length, it’s difficult.

This is: “I got a step. I’m going downhill towards the rim. I’m just going with ferocity, and I’m going to dunk it.” I think he did that and just reacted. Halfway through last year, I don’t think he had scored one left-hand basket. He doesn’t have to score a high volume of them, but we started just having some fun with it.

We do some … left-hand drills — just building confidence and coordination in it as well as some game-specific finishing. But this moment required it, and in the end, it’s a left-hand layup that he makes look pretty easy, just sort of changing hands. Pretty cool. …

It is a big-time play. I love the conviction. I love the setup by all the players involved. … We’ve used the line that you just limit how good you can get unless you establish yourself as a rim threat, and he’s been really committed to that idea.

‘Good energy’ and great hustle

When: Nov. 3, 2025. Where: Madison Square Garden, New York. What happens: This is a superb hustle play that reflects Sarr’s raw speed and his improved conditioning. George gathers a defensive rebound, and Sarr, who starts this sequence underneath his defensive backboard, sprints upcourt, outrunning his Knicks counterpart, Karl-Anthony Towns. Sarr was hoping to complete the play with a fast-break lob dunk, but an errant pass forces Sarr to save the ball before it goes out of bounds. In a display of court vision, Sarr passes to Coulibaly in the left corner, and Coulibaly drains a 3-pointer.

Sarr: I kind of ran past my defender. But I was trying to get the lob. Bilal being open in the corner and him hitting a 3, that’s a big shot for us going into the half. So that was definitely a good play. …

I feel like my conditioning a year ago was still pretty good. But this year, just playing more minutes, you get in a different type of shape. You’ve got to be in at least good shape to play a lot of minutes and be NBA efficient. I’m just getting used to that, getting to play those minutes, and getting better at it.

Caporn: It’s got a good energy to it, doesn’t it? I think that layup was probably missed because Alex was in the vicinity, or was at least a factor.

Look at him when he takes off here. Pretty impressive. The effort to run the floor, finding and celebrating a teammate here — it’s all the infectious stuff. Everyone leads in their own way, and this is part of how Alex leads. He might not be the most vocal guy yet, but he’s funny, he’s a good teammate and he likes to make others better.

We’ve talked about his passing ability being part of his special qualities, but he makes the right decision. And here, he makes right decisions with good effort and energy. I think a long-term improvement here would be that he can stick that landing better and hang onto the ball. But he’s at a full sprint, makes a great play, celebrates a teammate. …

(This play was) towards the end of a tough, difficult stretch in a close game. … He had a really good summer. The performance team did a great job. One of his biggest areas of growth has been his physical growth, investment. We’ve talked about the fact that you can’t save your (energy) in the weight room. Despite what’s going on, the games and the weight room are probably the two most important things for him.

Last line of defense

When: Jan. 7, 2026. Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia. What happens: Sarr, stationed in the middle of the free-throw line, sees the Sixers’ VJ Edgecombe cut to the basket and receive a pass. Sarr shifts toward the rim, blocking Edgecombe’s up-and-under layup attempt. Sarr might not have reacted quickly enough to make this play last season, but his anticipation has improved.

Sarr: On that play, I kind of knew that VJ, any guard really, when you jump with them, they kind of try to go to the other side of the rim for a layup. So I anticipate that and just put my hand where he’s going to take the layup to go and block it. …

When the play breaks down and a guy has two feet in the paint, my responsibility is really just to go in and clean it up, making sure he doesn’t make the layup. My teammates, they have my back, and they’ll rotate to the shooters. But I got to be the one that’s protecting the rim.

Caporn: By the letter of the law here, most teams have a similar system. Justin Champagnie would come to help here, and Alex would take Dominick Barlow (No. 25) coming in. The man on the baseline coming in, Alex would cover him. You give players these defensive rules, but more (accurately), they’re guidelines. If Alex can get to the contest and stop a basket at the rim, go do it. …

I think part of that is the art of coaching that Coach Keefe exemplifies really at a high level: giving them the confidence and support to make decisions and go make plays within our system. … Alex made the right play. That’s why they’re not hard and fast rules.

Putting pressure on the rim

When: Jan. 6, 2026. Where: Capital One Arena, Washington. What happens: This is an example of Sarr’s increased emphasis this season on rolling to the basket. Positioned on the left wing, Sarr sets a pick on 242-pound Orlando Magic rookie Noah Penda, freeing CJ McCollum. As Sarr’s defender, Goga Bitadze accounts for McCollum, Sarr rolls to the basket, catches a lob from McCollum and dunks the ball.

Sarr: That’s a good lob by CJ. I just set a pindown. The defender goes way over. CJ leads me with a lob, and I just have to catch it and dunk it. …

I’ve just got to set the screen because the defender is going to go over no matter what on CJ because there’s the threat of him shooting the 3. So he has to fight over (my screen) and then he just leaves me with a wide-open lane. …

When you roll, it makes the game easier. It collapses the defense. So that’s what’s better (in my approach). … Getting easy ones … opens up, also, my outside game. When I put pressure on the rim, I get to pop, and then it’s a struggle to guard.

Caporn: He’s really improved as a screener. There’s still a ways to go on lots of things. One of the subtle things here is he’s set. Orlando’s an aggressive defensive team. They’re going to make a collision and try and fight through your screen. His feet move a little bit. They move backwards, he absorbs. He doesn’t turn, lean out, or anything like that. He sort of just gets knocked back a little bit. But that does its job.

With CJ coming off (the screen), with a shooter of his caliber, it forces the defender over. And then, it’s a race. We talk about “screen and separate.” If you’re going to separate to the 3-point line, it’s sort of two steps and away from the basketball. Here it’s separate to the rim on the first two steps as hard as you can. This ball will either come in the pocket early or the lob late. So if it happens early, it’s going to happen now and early or late to the rim. He’s gotten better at that; if he doesn’t get the pocket (pass), he just hunts the lob. The synergy of our team finding him, those things take time.

… Spacing’s the key in all of this. That little flare screen by Justin for Alex is trying to get Goga Bitadze to think it’s a 3-point play, and Alex will take that 3 if it’s open. That first action sets up the next action. The first one here isn’t perfect, but it plays a factor. Quick decisions, the next action — it’s something all teams are striving for, and in this instance, that plus spacing creates a 2-on-1. That’s the essence of offense.