Perhaps the easiest way to think about Zachary Risacher’s game is to compare it to his English. Both are works-in-progress, befitting a 19-year-old NBA rookie who was born to French parents and has spent most of his life in France not polished, but both are probably better than you’d expect, and both feel much, much better over time becomes
The state of his English was evident during an hour-long conversation in New York in October. Risacher showed a good command of the language, much of which was taken from his teammates at LNB Elite, the top professional league in France, where he made his senior team debut as a 16-year-old in 2021 and spent the next three seasons. “It’s locker room English, not what you expect to learn in a classroom,” he says He got a game and: Coach Carterwhich he was recently able to watch without French pronunciation. “Actually they were better in English, of course.”
Based on initial impressions from the NBA preseason, Risacher’s time in the French Pro League has been nothing short of beneficial for the development of the 6-8, 200-pound wing, who is the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft by Atlanta. draft, made a dream first impression in his debut, scoring 18 points (on 7-9 shooting) on just 23 per minute: beat the Pacers. Those numbers and that result may not count toward the Falcons’ hopes of a bounce-back season, but the cost of the Raiders’ trip is no less real.
Just ask the two guys whose grades matter as much as anyone in the ATL.
“He seemed to enjoy himself,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the game. guys make each other better, I loved it.”
Trae Young, the Hawks’ franchise player, was also pleased with what he saw from his new candidate. “It was a hell of a performance,” Young said no. He can go out there and be himself. He’s going to have a hell of a career.”
None of this should come as a surprise—by definition, we expect big things from the No. 1 pick—but the buzz surrounding Risacher wasn’t quite at the same level as his compatriot Victor Vembanyama before and after the Spurs made him a top pick years ago. So, no, he hasn’t been anointed as a generational changer like Wembey, nor, according to the 30 general managers who participated in the annual NBA GM poll, has he not even a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.(Five players received at least one vote in the poll, and Risacher somehow wasn’t one of them.) Risacher knows his worth, and he’s confident his preseason showings are just the beginning.
“I am the type of player who can do a lot on the court. the term, I think, would be “versatile” in English, he says. “The exciting part about having me on your team is… I’ll do whatever it takes to win. I’m that type of player. And I want to win.”
Court versatility comes easily to the player for whom the game is a birthright.
“Basketball is a habit for me and my family,” he says. “Basketball was there before I was born.” Risacher was born in 2005 in Malaga, Spain, where his father Stefan played for Baloncesto Malaga in the Spanish top division It was one of 10 stops in a career that spanned from 1987 to 2010 and also included stints in Greece and his native France.A six-time All-Star in France and a member of the country’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Stephan was also on the French national team for years, winning a silver medal. With the 2000 Olympic team and, as it happened, being. one of the 10 men on the court when Vince Carter produced the scariest poster of all time on his French teammate Frederic Weiss.
Knife of death took place five years before Zachary was born, so he only knows it through YouTube clips. But naturally, many of his earliest memories involve basketball. “I can’t even remember when I first played,” he says “It was right there. Going to my dad’s practices and games, coming to the gym with him at a really young age, I just did it and never stopped playing basketball. It was a lifestyle that I liked. I never felt like I had to do it. I just wanted to be in the gym with my dad. I started to get better and I wanted to be the best version of myself and do what my dad did, and even better.”
Risacher emphasizes that his father never pushed too hard, but simply gave his son the guidance he asked for. Zachary’s younger sister, Ainhoa, is one of the best young players in Europe at the FIBA U17 World Cup, but she can beat me. good with the ball, he’s tall, he likes to make crazy passes.
Zachary’s own breakthrough came when he made his debut in the senior team of ASVEL Basket in 2021. No matter how helpful his father was, he had to learn on his own how to play with and against adults career.” Looking back, he says. “Being a professional was definitely the biggest challenge in my life. In our league, they don’t have time to be good. You have to learn a lot because playing with adults. You just have to learn how to deal with it. Only that I never stopped working.”
Risacher thrived, earning LNB All-Star status in 2023 and being named a EuroCup Rising Star earlier this year; More importantly, the experience toughened him up, giving him the confidence that when he made the jump to the NBA, he would be better prepared than most rookies to assess the stakes. that he “felt at home pretty quickly” in Atlanta, which he attributes to the city’s atmosphere and the Hawks organization. Good vibes aside, he took the transition seriously “I wanted to be better than I was in June,” he insists.
He also had a chance to bond with an All-Star teammate, with whom a successful partnership is essential to hopes of improving after last season’s disappointment. A trip to Oklahoma to visit Young on his home turf, to watch an OU football game, and to appear on Young’s podcast. “I really appreciate him for that,” Risacher said of the trip. “It really meant something to me.”
The rookie doesn’t need a podcast of his own to return the favor. He just needs to keep getting the ball rolling, working to develop the all-around skills that convinced Atlanta to use him as the No. 1 pick. The results will definitely mean something to Trae, his new for the franchise and long-suffering Hawks fans ready to seek out a contender.
Portraits by Christian Quezada.
Photo via Getty Images.
