Zaccharie Risacher Has Golden Opportunity with France at EuroBasket 2025

As EuroBasket 2025 quickly approaches, a significant number of current NBA players are set to represent their home countries in this highly anticipated event. Among the teams with the most talent is France, which boasts a roster that includes former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks.  

The 20-year-old has officially made the 12-man roster for EuroBasket 2025, which is great news not only for him but also for the Hawks. This will be incredible experience for Risacher ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, which is one that Atlanta is projected to take a giant leap forward. The French forward breaking out and having an even better sophomore season would be enough for the Hawks to potentially make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. This team has already improved this summer, but rapid development from Risacher could be equally as impactful as the external additions to the roster. 

Risacher will be playing alongside other NBA players, including Bilal Coulibaly, Guerschon Yabusele and Alex Sarr, and could play a significant role. Despite still being very young, he’ll have the opportunity to be a leader on the team and contribute on the court as well. This could potentially serve as a confidence booster and another milestone to develop as a player, which would be very important. 

Last season, Risacher averaged 12.6 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 35.5% from deep. That’s very good for a rookie, but the next few leaps he takes must be big ones to live up to top pick hype. Fair or not, there's an incredible level of varying expectations that comes with where a player is drafted.

Risacher will continue to improve, but it’s also an advantage that he has a versatile skillset that allows him to fit well alongside anyone in Atlanta. At 6-foot-8, he has the size to complement every other key player on the team. He’s an off-ball shooting threat to create space for Trae Young, capable of playing next to another forward like Jalen Johnson, possesses the length to complement Dyson Daniels on the defensive end and helps mask his inconsistent perimeter shooting when sharing the floor. He even adds size to the jumbo lineups the team will play with Kristaps Porzingis on the floor.

If Zaccharie Risacher can use this EuroBasket 2025 experience as a launchpad for a breakout sophomore campaign, the Atlanta Hawks will be a scary team in the Eastern Conference.