CHICAGO – During the reveal of 2024 NBA draft lottery, 7-foot-1 Alexandre Sarr stretched out his long legs in the front row with hopes of getting insight into where he will be playing next season. Once the stunning results were announced to the public, the heralded Frenchman learned he could end up moving back to Atlanta to play for the lottery-lucky Hawks.
“I’m really excited,” Sarr told Andscape after the draft lottery at McCormick Place West on Sunday. “I just found out what the order is. It tells me what team I’m going to work out with …
“The Hawks are an exciting organization. They are trending in the right direction. It’s great that they have the No. 1 pick.”
The Hawks entered the NBA draft lottery with a mere 3% chance of landing the top overall pick in this year’s draft. The only other time Atlanta landed the top pick was in 1975 when it selected David Thompson, who opted to sign a six-year, $3 million deal with the Denver Nuggets of the American Basketball Association. The first round of the 2024 NBA draft will take place on June 26 in Brooklyn, New York.
Hawks general manager Landry Fields said he was “in shock” when he learned his franchise owned the top pick.
“You look at the percentages. But when I saw it wasn’t us between 10 and 12, it launched us to the top four. I was like, ‘All right. We have a good shot about this.’ ” said Fields, who did not bring a lucky charm. “A bit of a surprise, but a lot of excitement.”
Marc J. Spears for Andscape
Just before the lottery was revealed, Hawks executive vice president and chief communications officer Garin Narain told folks from his team, the NBA and the media that he had a hunch that his franchise was going to get a high pick. More than an hour earlier, Hawks vice president of player personnel Daniel Starkman didn’t have the same optimism since they had the fifth-worst odds. But as the lottery combination was being revealed behind closed doors, Starkey began to notice that a shocking result was on the horizon. The Hawks’ winning combination was 6-10-14-13 for the No. 1 pick.
Starkey and the rest of the lottery viewers, including Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, were without any mode of messaging and couldn’t depart the secured room until the draft results were revealed to the public.
“I looked as a [winning] ball came to the front like it was The Price is Right,” Starkey told Andscape. “I didn’t know how to react. No one in the room knows me. I was professional. It was a bit livelier once Landry was able to have excitement. I didn’t know what the protocol was. Internally, I was excited.”
A year ago, another Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama, was the overwhelming favorite to be selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. The Spurs selected the 7-foot-4 center with the top pick and he didn’t disappoint, winning the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year award. While there isn’t a consensus No. 1 this time around, Sarr is currently projected to be the selection by ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony.
Sarr, 19, averaged 9.4 points, 0.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks and averaged 17.3 minutes for Perth in Australia’s National Basketball League this season. He began attracting interest from NBA scouts after he played in two exhibition games against the G League Ignite in Las Vegas in September 2023. Sarr showed athleticism with high-rising dunks and shot-blocking, rebounded well and guarded much shorter players. Sarr’s brother Olivier is a two-way player for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sarr believes he should be the top pick.
“I bring a lot of versatility. I can really make an impact. I am a game changer defensively,” Sarr told Andscape.
With all due respect to Sarr, expect the Hawks to do their due diligence.
Fields said the Hawks are going to “dive deep” into evaluating the draft prospects. He wasn’t certain how many he would consider for the top pick. Other potential top draft prospects the Hawks could work out and visit with include JL Bourg forward Zaccharie Risacher, Kentucky point guards Reed Sheppard and Robert Dillingham, G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis and Connecticut center Donovan Clingan.
The Hawks missed the playoffs last season with a disappointing 36-46 record and loss in the play-in tournament. Atlanta has two standout guards who have been in trade rumors for months, three-time NBA All-Star Trae Young and 2022 All-Star Dejounte Murray.
“I feel good about what we’re going to continue to build with,” Fields told Andscape. “We have a lot of great players in Atlanta.”
Marc J. Spears for Andscape
Odds are the Hawks will visit privately with Sarr here this week while at the NBA draft combine. The Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs have the second, third and fourth picks, respectively, and could ask for visits, as well. Afterward, Sarr said, he will return to Santa Barbara, California, for more training and to prepare for team visits. Fields told Andscape he watched Sarr play in Australia this season but declined to reveal what he thought of him as a player.
If Sarr is drafted by the Hawks, he will have no problem getting acclimated to Atlanta after recently residing there for two years. He played with the Overtime Elite in Atlanta from 2021-23 before signing to play with Perth this past season. Overtime Elite was founded in 2021 and serves as a pathway for elite teenage basketball players to play in a league against other talented players en route to the NBA or other pro leagues. Former Overtime Elite guards Amen and Ausar Thompson were the fourth and fifth picks, respectively, in the 2023 NBA draft.
Sarr said he attended “a lot of Hawks games” when he was with Overtime Elite and he enjoyed the “hype crowd.”
“I know a little bit about Atlanta. I wasn’t doing much. I was just going to school and was in the gym. It’s a great city,” Sarr said.
Sarr would be comfortable playing in Atlanta. Time will soon tell if the Hawks feel the same. Atlanta has the options of drafting him, selecting another prospect or trading the pick elsewhere. It’s a great and unexpected problem to have for Atlanta considering it overcame overwhelming odds to be in this coveted position.
When asked if the Hawks will keep the No. 1 pick, Landry told Andscape: “I don’t know. We will see.”
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