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.
