This Washington sports fanbase is as ecstatic as it has been in the 21st century, with the long-suffering DMV populace almost suspicious of any success after decades of misfortune and mismanagement.
And can you blame them? Jayden Daniels has captained the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, one win away from an appearance in Super Bowl LIX. Just another week in perhaps the greatest debut season the NFL has ever seen from a quarterback, as Daniels nearly guaranteed an Offensive Rookie of the Year win after a prosperous regular season.
Alex Sarr Has High Chance to Win ROY
What’s even wilder is that Daniels may not even be the only D.C.-area athlete to take home top rookie honors in 2025. Alex Sarr is making a great case to win the NBA’s equivalent award, entering the halfway point in the season and having topped NBA.com’s most recent rookie ladder update.
Except while Daniels captivated the masses with game-winning drives, evasive runs and brilliantly-placed moon balls, Sarr has more or less capitalized on a weaker rookie class.
Sarr Locking Down on Defense
That’s not to say he’s not a good player. On the contrary, he’s adapted to the league and rewarded the Washington Wizards for spending their No. 2 overall draft pick much quicker than anticipated, showing flashes of a skillset that go well beyond your typical big-man responsibilities.
Sarr has delivered on the promised versatile defense, posing as much of a threat to block a shot as he is switched out on the perimeter.
He leads all rookies in blocks per game with 1.6, and he has demonstrated considerably more advanced offensive chops than anyone else in his environment.
The young big is everywhere on offense— he’s hoisting plenty of threes (4.6 per game), and making them at a 31.3% clip. He’s moving the ball with advanced court awareness, having mounted 84 total assists for the sixth-highest among rookies (StatMuse). Sarr is only improving as a volume scorer, having totaled two single-digit scoring nights in his last 20 games compared to eight in his first 18 outings (Basketball-Reference.com).
He’s joined in the top three of that most recent rookie ladder by Stephon Castle, the two-way San Antonio Spurs guard posting similar shooting splits to Sarr with a bit more explosivity as a scorer, and Jaylen Wells, a second-round wing who’s emerged as a rotation-ready defender and shooter on the win-now Memphis Grizzlies.
Alex Sarr’s ROY Competition
The depths of the Rookie of the Year odds include several role-playing bigs like Yves Missi, Zach Edey and Kel’el Ware, older picks like Tristan da Silva and Ryan Dunn, as well as some of Sarr’s current teammates in Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George.
Plenty of serviceable players, many of whom could one day elevate into starters on contending teams, but the 2024 rookie class is lacking in anyone blowing the socks off of the league.
Look no further than the last decade of Rookie of the Year winners to see how much of a scoring dropoff this slate of young guys has presented the NBA with.
None of the last seven award winners (Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, Scottie Barnes, LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Ben Simmons) took home the Wilt Chamberlain trophy with anything fewer than 15 points per game. The last player to do it, Malcolm Brogdon, did it during the 2016-17 season, the one that Simmons missed the entirety of while tending to a foot injury.
This class had that guy but lost him right after he’d started figuring it out.
The league is seriously missing Jared McCain. His 15.3 points per game dwarf Wells, Castle and Sarr, each averaging between 11 and 12 points atop the rookie scoring leaderboard. He elevated into one of Philadelphia’s top-scoring options throughout 23 exciting games but saw his season end early after tearing his meniscus in mid-December.
Sarr Filling ROY Void
Sarr, who only looked better as the season progressed, only started getting love from the league after McCain went down. He won Rookie of the Month in December, and judging by that rookie ladder update, it looks like he will repeat in January.
Unlike what McCain looked to be doing, or even fellow Washingtonian Jayden Daniels, no one will be running away with this award.
Alex Sarr looks like a favorite to take it home, but he’s filling the void rather than mowing down the competition.
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