Alex Sarr and Cody Williams may be looking to their NBA brothers for guidance

The Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t any longer a contender for the primary overall pick or lottery pick within the NBA Draft. The signing of talented players comparable to forward Chet Holmgren, wing Jalen Williams and guard/forward Josh Giddey over the past three years has modified the fortunes of a team currently within the second round of the NBA Playoffs. However, the Thunder are still fascinated with which team will select No. 1 and how the remaining selections will fare in Sunday’s 2024 NBA draft lottery for family reasons.

Olivier Sarr’s injured Thunder forward Alexandre Sarr is currently projected to be the No. 1 pick within the 2024 NBA draft. Cody Williams, Jalen Williams’ brother, can be projected to be a lottery pick through the June 26 draft at Brooklyn, New York. Oklahoma City may have a probability to draft Cody Williams as he could be drafted in the primary round by the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz. These photos will be revealed through the draft lottery.

“Some of my teammates talked to me about him, which is always nice,” Olivier Sarr told Andscape about his brother. “It’s coming up more and more in conversations.”

Olivier Sarr averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in three seasons with the Thunder after going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2021. The Frenchman signed with the Thunder as a two-way player in 2021. The 7-foot-2, 237-pounder in 2023 However, his twenty fourth season ended abruptly after he tore his left Achilles tendon while playing for Thunder’s G League team Oklahoma City Blue through the 2024 G League Championship victory over the Maine Celtics.

While advice can be given in regards to the NBA experience, Olivier Sarr is impressed with the progress of his 19-year-old brother, who’s playing within 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 with how well he’s doing,” said Olivier Sarr. “We don’t talk about whether he’s nervous today, the games or the conversations. He is beyond his years. He doesn’t see any pressure at all.”

Giddey believes Alexandre Sarr will be ready when he enters the NBA after appearing on NBL Next Stars.

The NBL developed the Next Stars program “to accelerate the development of the next NBA stars.” The program allows young, promising players to join an Australian or New Zealand NBL team for one season of development to prepare them to play within the NBA. Giddey, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and former NBA guard RJ Hampton participated within the Next Stars program.

Inspired by Ball and Hampton, Giddey gave up the collegiate game to stay home and play within the Next Stars program. He thinks it was an important alternative for Alexandre Sarr.

“I had to watch LaMelo and RJ a year before I was going to do the same thing,” Giddey told Andscape. “Of course I wanted to play within the NBL. When I made the choice to move to the NBL, it was made possible thanks to the Next Stars program. It’s an important program. The best players now go there and use it as a positive influence on the NBA. Of course, Alex will be a high pick this 12 months. Kids see it as a viable option for the NBA and it’s starting to gain popularity around the globe.

“I know Perth loves (Alexandre Sarr). He’s a super talented kid. It’s hard to play in this league as a young guy. I learned this at an early age. But people have seen that if you can compete in this league for 17, 18, 19 years, it shows that they have a future, anywhere in the world. Obviously, Alex’s talent is a potential No. 1 choice. (Perth) is really highly regarded and has won many championships. This is one of the best teams in the league. The fact that he has a direct impact on this group says a lot about him.”

A source said that Alexandre Sarr, after starring within the Overtime Elite development program, has decided to play within the NBL Next Stars program after being rejected by G League Ignite. Olivier Sarr also believes that the Next Stars program will help his brother prepare like Giddey for the NBA. Giddey said he gave Olivier Sarr basic information in regards to the Next Stars program before his brother became involved with this system.

“Look at the NBL, these are grown men. It’s not like college,” said Olivier Sarr. “G League Ignite is also different in its own way because it plays against players who have already played professionally in the EuroLeague and NBA. The advantage of the Next Stars program is that you are the only young guy on the team. It is targeted and tailored to make you feel better.”

Jalen Williams is certainly 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 chosen the 6-foot-10, 211-pounder with the twelfth overall pick of Santa Clara University within the 2022 NBA Draft. Williams’ brother, Cody, can be a possible 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 entering the NBA draft on April 22. ESPN NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony ranked Williams tenth overall on his list of the highest 100 prospects for the April 17 NBA draft. The 6-8, 190-pound player has a 7-foot-1 wingspan, which helps him on defense.

Cody Williams attended a few of his brother’s regular season and playoff games this season. The Thunder will host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

Jalen Williams thought it was the right time for his younger brother to enter the NBA draft.

“I just told him, ‘If you feel ready enough to leave, then go,'” he said. “The most important thing was also that he is so young and his prognosis is really high. It’s one of those things you want to do while the iron is hot. Not many people are in the situation he is in. I said, “Do it as long as you feel ready and healthy.” After that, it was mostly him and my parents trying to determine the logistics of all of it.

The brothers ceremonially shook hands after Jalen Williams was chosen by the Thunder within the 2022 NBA Draft. Jalen Williams says he will certainly be there to shake hands again when his brother is chosen within the June draft.

“I’m going to get on the field and I’m looking forward to it,” Jalen Williams said. “It’s going to be really cool. Of course, he got there much faster than I did. It will be very nice when things turn around in two years.

“I’m extremely proud. He knows it. It’s surreal how quickly it happened. I feel like I just got drafted and he’s going through the identical process with the identical agency and figuring out this summer. He has the identical complaints about exercise as I do. It’s really cool.”