For the second straight season, a French star has been chosen No. 1 general within the draft.
The Atlanta Hawks chosen Zaccharie Risacher with the primary decide within the NBA Draft on Wednesday evening. Risacher, a 6-foot-8 winger who performed with JL Bourg within the French league final season, was undoubtedly probably the greatest prospects on this 12 months’s class and had been a high goal for the Hawks within the lead-up to the draft.
That is now simply the fourth time within the trendy draft period that the primary decide has been a global participant. The San Antonio Spurs chosen Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 general decide final summer season. The Toronto Raptors took Andrea Bargnani out of Italy first in 2006, and the Houston Rockets chosen Chinese language star Yao Ming No. 1 general in 2002.
Whereas Risacher doesn’t have wherever close to the thrill Wembanyama did coming into the draft, he’s nonetheless a participant with great upside the Hawks can construct round for years to return.
The 19-year-old averaged 11.6 factors and three.7 rebounds per recreation with JL Bourg final season, and he led them into the semifinals of the LBN Professional A playoffs. He dropped a formidable 28 factors whereas sinking 5 3-pointers in a playoff matchup towards Nanterre in what was his finest recreation of the season. Risacher helped lead Bourg into the semifinals of the playoffs, but it surely was knocked out by eventual league champion Monaco. Risacher additionally performed on France’s U16, U17 and U19 groups, although he received’t be with France on the Paris Olympics later this summer season.
The Hawks have been focusing on each Risacher and UConn star Donovan Clingan in latest weeks. Alex Sarr, one other French participant who spent final season in Australia, really refused to work out for them. Sarr had lengthy been anticipated to go No. 1 general, although Risacher overtook him in most mock drafts in latest days, and it’s simple to see why.
Risacher is a really secure decide on this draft class, each as a result of his potential and the truth that his recreation seems very properly suited to the NBA — particularly contemplating he performed greater than 50 video games final season within the French league as a teen.
“I’ll say the truth that I used to be on knowledgeable workforce with a task,” he mentioned on Tuesday when requested why he thinks he stands out within the draft class, by way of the Atlanta Journal-Structure. “And I used to be thought of like part of a profitable workforce and never identical to an NBA prospect or someone who wanted minutes due to his standing. Yeah, simply year-round skilled expertise, folks, well-known gamers simply made me notice that I might do one thing nice within the season, as a participant, in addition to a workforce and in addition the truth that I used to be figuring out on daily basis. I feel as quickly as you set the work in, you begin to have extra confidence and also you often don’t worry.”
Even when he would not flip right into a generational expertise in the best way many anticipate Wembanyama to, Risacher needs to be a fantastic match alongside Trae Younger and Dejounte Murray and be capable of make a huge effect in Atlanta straight away.