Dame Sarr Scouting Report
He's Europe's next wonderkid. But what's the long-term potential? Is he NBA ready or should he focus on next year instead? Here is everything you need to know about the latest draft sensation:
Elhadji Dame Sarr — Barcelona (Spain) — 6’8” — 189 lbs
Shooting Guard/Small Forward — Born: Jun 4, 2006 (18 years old)
Introduction
Elhadji Dame Sarr is the hottest name in draft circles while we’re two months away from draft day. He’s been released from his contract at Barcelona earlier this month, as he’s already preparing for the 2025 NBA Draft. We don’t see teenagers playing roles in the NBA immediately, that’s scarce. Regardless, the Nike Hoop Summit standout oozes long-term potential where he’ll draw intrigue from every front office in the association.
A feasible role early on is vital to grade how likely he’ll hit his long-term potential. The emphasis of this scouting report is to cover both while assuming he’ll enter the 2025 NBA Draft.
Physical Profile
At 6’7.5” in shoes, Sarr has the wing size teams look for. He measured out incredibly with a wingspan just below seven feet. With his long (9.0”) and wide (10.25”) hands, he continues to provide what NBA scouts love. The physical tools add intrigue and willingness for teams to continue developing him. The positive is the development of his thin frame. He’s added nearly twenty pounds of muscle to his frame in the last 1.5 years.
Sarr is a twitchy, fast athlete with good vertical pop. He’s a fast, big-handed ball-stopper, rather than someone who makes the difference using physicality. His broad shoulders and frame have enough room to continue to bulk up in the next few years, which is a must for him.
Offense
Pick-and-roll
The twitchy nature of his style of play translates well to his capabilities as a creator. He’s a good ball handler with a decent understanding of angles. That’s helping him find minutes at Barcelona, where he’s getting his fair share of ball touches. He’s a creative scorer but doesn’t look comfortable getting downhill without a wider driving lane. Avoiding physicality is understandable at his age, but regardless, he’s tough and tries to get two feet inside the paint by focusing on finding the angles instead.
In the first play below, Sarr utilizes the ball screen well before relocating to the weak side. He shows good handles and uses long strides and good bursts to create separation. His core strength is a work in progress but is good enough here as he’s keeping his balance well before the finish. He’s also improving as a shooter off the dribble, with the second possession below being an example. However, despite his good handles, Sarr must learn not to overdribble the ball, with two or three being the max. The third and fourth examples show how he’s still working on progressing the game faster while finding the right angles to either drive or make the pass.
Catch-and-shoot
At over 44% from three on over an attempt per game, the numbers don’t look sustainable. Although Sarr is consistent in his form, this must improve to translate his jumper to the NBA level. What immediately stood out was Sarr’s habit of correcting his right pivot before rising up for his jumper. That’s consistently coming back, with the first play below showing how it makes it easier for closeout defenders to contest or even block his shots.
Regardless, the high-arching release and smooth elevation will intrigue NBA scouts. He looks to push shots at times, with the third play as an example. That’s due to his frame improving and the body catching up later. He still needs to add strength to consistently shoot these far-ranged threes. That’s holding him back from playing as a volume shooter now. However, that’s no concern for NBA scouts as it’s mostly because of his young age while he was skinny a year ago.
Another area of development for Sarr is to not lower the ball after the catch. In his form, he’s bringing the ball to his waist while correcting his right foot before he can even elevate for his shot. That must improve if he wants to add value to a team’s offensive rating by shooting off the catch.
Catch-and-drive
Sarr’s tough when he’s creating out of closeouts. His burst and twitchy style of play compensate for the lack of strength. In today’s draft discourse, “playing against grown men” became the most overused phrase possible. But in Sarr’s case, he’s finding ways to counter the lack of strength, and his handles and twitchiness lead to blow-by speed Sarr can use as his weapon to get downhill. While finding minutes in the Euroleague, the first-tier international league in Europe, Sarr often struggles against experience. He’s not making consistent decisions about which driving lane to take advantage of, with the first live-ball turnover as an example.
Regardless, this is a role he’ll thrive on in the NBA. Sarr can show his creativity as he’s improving his floater game. He uses his long legs and strides to get entry inside the lane. Hereafter, he’s keeping his head well down to use fakes to his advantage before powering back up for his jumper or floater. The second play is an example. In the third possession, we see Sarr’s handles and decision-making as a stepback shooter. Although I’m not favorable for that shot type, Sarr should take these more often as his rim pressure is good leverage for him to use. He’s finding ways to use his physical tools and length to get downhill, with his improving core strength helping him to stay in balance. The last play shows an example.
In the NBA, growing into a role with reduced ball touches is something every rookie goes through. For Sarr, he’s holding the edge because of the flashes of his athleticism already visible in his game. That’s the sample size NBA scouts are looking for.
Passing, ball-moving, and playmaking
At 17 assists to 15 turnovers, the sample size is limited. Regardless, it’s a good first impression, showing ball security while making decent to good decisions as a passer. At a turnover rate of 16%, he’s still prone to losing the ball, but that’s mostly due to his age. However, NBA teams won’t use him as a primary playmaker. His role at Barcelona as a ball-mover is the best possible fit, and he has the potential to grow in this role in the next few years.
Sarr doesn’t stand out with high-level reads. And he doesn’t have to. He’s mostly focusing on making the right play and keeping the ball moving. To fit into a faster-paced NBA game, those decisions must be faster, as he’s often holding onto the ball too long, killing momentum in his team’s halfcourt set.
However, he’s decent at making the right plays after dribble penetration. In the first play below, Sarr recognizes the help defense collapsing on him and he’s immediately using his size to see over the defense. The overhead side pass leads to the wide-open midrange jumper. The positive is Sarr is improving in recognizing sets being run. His feel for the game hasn’t matured yet, but regardless, he recognizes the cutting lane in the middle in the second play, immediately executing his read while coming off the screen.
For the NBA, Sarr must work on using his burst and twitchiness to sell defenders the dribble penetration. Combined with his height, he can execute reads much better as he’s holding vision on the entire floor. The third, fourth, and fifth plays show examples. The execution speed isn’t good yet, but that’s not an issue at 18 years old while playing among the best competition in Europe.
Defense
Screen navigation
Navigating through screens is the most vital part of Sarr’s evaluation as a defender. His long and wiry frame makes him the target for opposing fives to ensure separation for its ball handler. Regardless, Sarr’s natural toughness and tools helped him fastly improve in a more set-heavy European game where he has enough reps to get into live-action opposing screeners. He’s not ready to be a top defender yet, but the tools are there. He’s also showing some flashes of promise for the long run.
The main issue is that he’s foul-prone due to decision-making. More experienced players are good at luring him into—using his toughness against him, while he’s averaging over a foul in nine minutes per game. In the first play, Sarr’s lucky the referee didn’t call the foul, as he used his right arm to keep the scorer at a distance and take away the balance. He’s tough and will garner stops while pushing himself over the edge. He did well to navigate through the off-ball action at the top of the key.
Sarr is also an active tagger. He’s good at getting under a player’s skin with active tags and lots of contact. The European game is much more physical, so he’s making the best of that. The second play shows an example. However, he can be too aggressive at times, especially when facing dribble penetration. The closer the scorer gets to the rim, the harder Sarr defends. But that’s being used as an advantage by more creative scorers, with the third and fourth plays below showing examples.
Catch-and-drive
There is serious long-term potential for Sarr to grow into a reliable closeout defender. He’s quick, twitchy, and shows a good last step. That last step is followed by a strong pivot to ensure his balance while he’s ready to use his burst as a weapon. He has great length and is twitchy. He can afford to close out and keep his distance while still capable of contesting against spot-up threes. Those are the skillsets NBA scouts seek via the draft.
But he has some areas to clean up. The first part is to play with more composure. He’s often moving his feet too fast, which doesn’t appear to hurt him much in Europe, but the more creative NBA guards will immediately punish that. The first play below shows an example. He’s also not good enough positioning-wise to ensure that he can close out at 180 degrees. In the second play, he gave away the entire baseline. Hereafter, he had to pull the emergency brake and take the foul.
In the third play, he’s locking up the perimeter option. He slid his feet well and tried to use his frame to draw the charge as he saw the ball handler keeping the head down before driving into the lane. Those are the positives NBA scouts seek. It’s still long-term-based, but Sarr can grow into a niche as one of the league’s better closeout defenders.
Catch-and-shoot
The length makes up for a lot of Sarr’s closeouts. He’s not good enough positioning-wise to make it happen of always closing out timely against spot-up shooters. And that’s okay. NBA scouts shouldn’t grade this as a negative. A vital part of development is ensuring better rotations. Often, Sarr looks overwhelmed when he’s facing motion offenses. In the NBA, he’ll have to process this in every game. Therefore, rotations remain the essential part to improve on if Sarr wants to make the most out of the potential defensive versatility his physical tools offer.
In the first play, Sarr did well to keep his composure, correcting his feet while knowing he has countered with his length if the ball handlers decide to pull up or the twitchiness and burst if he’s facing dribble penetration. That makes it easier for Sarr to not bite on jab steps and ball-fakes. That’s a positive he brings to the NBA. In the second possession, Sarr did well to keep track of the play and even close out against the spot-up shooter on the elbow. But he didn’t put a hand in the shooter’s face. That’s because the game went too fast for him, and the earlier-mentioned rotations and processing of the game will change that to a cleanly contested shot in the next few years. That’s hurting Sarr in the third play as well. He did well to hedge by keeping a foot in the lane, helping a teammate that’s late with rotations in the middle while knowing he could have enough time to sprint out and contest against the elbow shooter.
There are enough flashes for NBA scouts to support that improvement is imminent rather than a question mark.
Pick-and-roll
The differentiator in Sarr’s profile is his pick-and-roll defense. He’s tough and has a Corey Kispert-esque technique of pivoting far and throwing himself between the ball handler and the shooter. That’s an immediate positive for his draft profile, regardless of the strength disadvantage he’s facing in almost every game. NBA teams will ask Sarr to defend the pick-and-roll, as teams seek length, size, and quick feet to respond to a switch-heavier NBA game.
Physical tools matter. And NBA teams are the best at developing those. Therefore, Sarr’s experience in the Euroleague and Spanish ACB will be valued highly in NBA circles. In the first play below, he dodges the screen and rotates well to use his length in closing kickout angles inside the lane. Hereafter, he doesn’t shy away from contact against the opposing five, immediately seeking to draw the offensive foul.
In the second possession, Sarr has good composure in recognizing the incoming ball screen at the elbow. He dodges the screen while knowing the shooter will make the one-dribble pull-up. That’s where the value of his twitchiness and verticality comes into play, as Sarr pivoted strongly with his right. Hereafter, the core strength and vertical pop helped him immediately jump out and contest the three. That was an impressive play. In the third play, Sarr throws another strong pivot before launching himself between the ball handler and screener. He’s understanding screening angles very well for his age, and these flashes make it imminent that improvement won’t take long.
With more teams seeking multiple pick-and-roll defenders, Sarr’s potential improves his draft value, especially considering the physical tools.
NBA Draft Projection
Based on the strengths and areas of development mentioned in this scouting report, I project Dame Sarr to be a lock for the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s one of the youngest players in the class, and the physical tools make it much better for NBA teams to develop him in-house in an American environment.
His team, Barcelona, didn’t allow Sarr to compete in the Nike Hoop Summit. On top of that, he impressed against his age group in front of many NBA decision-makers. That improves the likeliness of his representatives, taking the high current value into account when considering if he’ll return to Europe or take advantage of a thinner-becoming draft pool in June 2025.