The Oklahoma City Thunder are past being contenders for a No. 1 pick or lottery selection in the NBA draft. Drafting such talented players as forward Chet Holmgren, wing Jalen Williams and guard/forward Josh Giddey over the last three years has changed the fortunes of a franchise now in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The Thunder, however, are still interested in which team lands the No. 1 pick and how the rest of the selections shake out in the 2024 NBA draft lottery on Sunday for family reasons.
Injured Thunder forward Olivier Sarr’s younger brother, Alexandre Sarr, is currently projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Cody Williams, brother of Jalen Williams, is also projected to be a lottery pick at the draft in Brooklyn, New York, on June 26. Oklahoma City may have a chance to draft Cody Williams as it may be conveyed first-round picks from the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz. Those pics will be revealed during the draft lottery.
“Some of my teammates have talked to me about him, which is always nice,” Olivier Sarr told Andscape about his brother. “He is coming up more and more in conversations.”
Olivier Sarr has averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in three seasons with the Thunder after going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2021. The Frenchman was signed by the Thunder as a two-way player in 2021. The 7-foot, 237-pounder’s 2023-24 season ended abruptly, however, after he tore his left Achilles tendon while playing for the Thunder’s G League Oklahoma City Blue during their 2024 G League championship win over the Maine Celtics.
While there is advice to offer on the NBA experience, Olivier Sarr is impressed by how his 19-year-old brother progressed while playing in the Australian National Basketball League this season for the Perth Wildcats. The versatile and athletic 7-1, 216-pounder averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 27 games for Perth this season, mostly against players much older and stronger than him.
“I’m impressed on how well he is doing,” Olivier Sarr said. “We don’t talk about whether he is nervous today, the games or the chatter. He’s beyond his years. He doesn’t see any pressure at all.”
Giddey believes Alexandre Sarr will be ready once he enters the NBA after playing in the NBL’s Next Stars program.
The NBL developed the Next Stars program “to fast track the development of the next stars of the NBA.” The program allows young promising players to join an Australian or New Zealand NBL team for one season of development to prepare them for the NBA. Giddey, who is from Melbourne, Australia, Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and former NBA guard RJ Hampton participated in the Next Stars program.
After being inspired by Ball and Hampton, Giddey passed on playing collegiately to stay home to play for the Next Stars program. He believes it was a great choice for Alexandre Sarr.
“I got to watch LaMelo and RJ the year before me going do the same thing,” Giddey told Andscape. “Obviously, I wanted to play in the NBL. Once I made the decision to go to the NBL, it was through the Next Stars program. It’s a great program. The top picks are going there now and are using it as a positive for the NBA. Obviously, Alex is going to be a high pick this year. Kids are seeing it as a real option to the NBA and its starting to get traction all around the world.
“I know Perth loves [Alexandre Sarr]. He’s a super-talented kid. It’s a hard league to play in as a young kid. I learned that at an early age. But people have seen that if you can compete in that league from 17, 18, 19, it shows they are going to have a future wherever that is in the world. Obviously, Alex’s talent is as a possible No. 1 pick. [Perth] is really highly regarded and has won a lot of championships. It’s one of the best teams in the league. For him to have an immediate impact on that group speaks volumes of him.”
After playing for the developmental Overtime Elite program, a source said Alexandre Sarr chose to play for the NBL Next Stars program after being turned down by the G League Ignite. Olivier Sarr also believes the Next Stars program will help his brother be prepared like Giddey was for the NBA. Giddey said he gave Olivier Sarr some background information on the Next Stars before his brother committed to the program.
“Look at the NBL, it’s grown men. It’s not like college,” Olivier Sarr said. “The G League Ignite is also different in its own lane, playing against guys who have played pro before in the EuroLeague and the NBA. The good thing about it with the Next Stars program is you’re the only young guy on the team. It’s targeted and tailored for you to get better.”
Jalen Williams is one of the NBA’s rising young stars, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds for the Thunder in his second season. The Thunder drafted the 6-foot-5, 211-pounder with the 12th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Santa Clara University. Williams’ brother, Cody, also is projected as a potential lottery pick after playing his freshman season at Colorado. The 19-year-old averaged 11.9 points, 3 rebounds and 1.9 assists on 55.2% shooting in 24 games for the Buffaloes last season before putting his name into the NBA draft on April 22. ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony ranked Williams 10th overall in his Top 100 NBA draft prospect list on April 17. The 6-8, 190-pounder has a 7-foot-1 wingspan that aids him on defense.
Cody Williams attended some of his brother’s regular-season and playoff games this season. The Thunder host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Jalen Williams believed the timing is great for his younger brother to enter the NBA draft.
“I just told him, ‘If you feel ready enough to go, then go,’ ” he said. “The biggest thing, too, was that he is so young and projected really high. It’s one of those things where you kind of want to go while the iron is hot regardless. Not many people get to be in the situation that he is in. I was like, ‘Go for it as long as you feel ready and healthy.’ After that, a lot it was him and my parents trying to figure out the logistics of that.”
The brothers did a lengthy celebratory handshake after Jalen Williams was selected by the Thunder during the 2022 NBA draft. Jalen Williams says he definitely will be present to do the handshake again when his brother is selected in June’s draft.
“I am going to be out there and I look forward to that,” Jalen Williams said. “It’s going to be really cool. Obviously, he got there a lot faster than I did. It will be really cool to have the table turns in two years.
“I’m super-proud. He knows that. It’s surreal how fast it happened. It feels like I was just getting drafted and now he’s going through the same process with the same agency and he’s working out in this summer. He has the same complaints about working out that I did. It’s really cool.”