For nearly two months, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NBA draft has avoided the spotlight that typically comes with the selection. That will change for Atlanta Hawks rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher on Wednesday under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
Risacher and the Hawks are playing for a spot in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday. To get there, Atlanta must first defeat the New York Knicks in front of its first nationally televised ESPN audience of the season. He will be playing in front of courtside celebrities and a hostile crowd at MSG for the first time in his young career.
“I’d like to say there’s no pressure,” Risacher, 19, told Andscape recently about being the No. 1 pick. “I love challenges. People know they want to compete [against me]. They want to impress. They want to show you. Play hard. But I want to do it, too. And that’s just basketball.”
The Hawks finished the 2023-24 season with a 36-46 record and no playoff appearance. The Hawks’ roster, however, did have talent led by three-time NBA All-Star Trae Young. Other key members included veteran center Clint Capela, rising star forward Jalen Johnson and veteran forward De’Andre Hunter. Atlanta entered the 2024 NBA draft lottery with the 10th-best odds at just 3% to earn the No. 1 overall pick.
The Hawks beat the long odds to acquire the No. 1 overall pick. The Hawks selected Risacher, who averaged 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds for JL Bourg last season in EuroCup and the LNB Elite league. With Victor Wembanyama going as the No. 1 draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs in 2023, French players were selected first overall in consecutive NBA drafts for the first time.
But unlike Wembanyama with San Antonio, the Hawks didn’t need Risacher to be a savior.
“The best thing about being the No. 1 pick was to be able to get into this franchise, the Atlanta Hawks,” Risacher said. “That is the best thing that could ever happen. Me in terms of basketball, I’m super super-grateful to be here in this organization.”
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While Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain entered the week as the only rookie averaging more than 15 points, Risacher has impressed by affecting the entire box score.
Risacher is averaging 11.6 points on 41.4% shooting from the field, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists while averaging 24.2 minutes, primarily as a starter. The 6-foot-8, 200-pounder entered the week as the only NBA rookie with 16 games of 10 or more points, and as the only rookie with at least 270 points, 80 rebounds, 30 assists, 20 steals and 15 blocks.
“He’s just a rookie and a really good player whether he’s the first pick or the third pick or the fifth pick,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “He is a guy who is really hungry to learn. One of the things is that there is going to be failure. There are going to be bad games. There are going to be missed shots. We just got to get him to play through those things.
“I don’t worry about him losing confidence. But playing well gives you affirmation. He just has to keep playing. I think his teammates are a big part of that to continue to support him.”
“I just make sure I do the right thing and I’m so focused on being good, wanting to make an impact. The good thing is that when I step on the court the pressure goes away,” Risacher said.
Snyder has actually been most impressed with Risacher’s defense. Defensively, Atlanta entered the week 3.4 points per possession better with the long defender on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass.
“We focus a lot on what a young player does offensively,” Snyder said. “But defensively, he’s been challenged trying to take multiple matchups. If you’re a wing in the NBA, those are the best players in the world that you’re looking at every night.”
Snyder and the Hawks are hoping for another special performance by Risacher against the Knicks on Wednesday. Coincidentally, Risacher’s best game as a rookie so far came during a 121-116 NBA Cup victory over the visiting Knicks on Nov. 6 with a season-high 33 points, 6 made 3-pointers, 2 blocks and zero turnovers in 37 minutes. He became the fourth youngest player in the NBA since the 1976-77 season to log 30-plus points and zero turnovers in a game. That is the only game this season that Risacher has scored more than 20 points.
Risacher said recently that the Hawks had a goal entering this season to make it to Las Vegas to win the NBA Cup.
“We pretty much decided it was a goal at the beginning of the season,” Risacher said. “But we want to go to Vegas and it’s super. It’s something different, something special for during the season. So, it’s really exciting and we play the Knicks in the Garden. So, I feel like it’s going to be a super-cool atmosphere and I’m super-excited to play in this arena.”
Risacher added that the Hawks have to “be perfect” to make it to the NBA Cup semifinals. And if Atlanta do make it to Las Vegas, he will suddenly be in a global spotlight as he plays the first important game of his NBA career.
The Hawks have never won a championship since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Winning the NBA Cup offers an opportunity to put a banner in their arena rafters. The players from the winning NBA Cup team also receive $500,000 each.
“There’s no pressure,” Risacher said of being the No. 1 pick. “We compete with men. And it’s still a game. And I feel like I can be good at it no matter whether I’m No. 1 or not.”
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