The Hawks have something special in Zaccharie Risacher

While he might not garner the typical coverage of a top overall pick, the Hawks do have something special in Zaccharie Risacher.

It was described as one of the worst draft classes in NBA history. There wasn’t a clear and obvious top prospect like Victor Wembanyama was the year before or even Cooper Flagg in this upcoming cycle.

The Hawks landed on the 19-year-old Frenchman, which was met with inevitable criticism because no matter who the club selected, it was going to be attacked. Now, with his first season coming to a close, it looks like the Hawks made the right decision with Zaccharie Risacher.

Risacher is coming off his most impressive outing of his young career, scoring 36 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. It brings his average to 12.4 points per game on .452/.350/.717 shooting splits, good for a 53% effective field goal percentage.

How he’s played since returning from injury is really encouraging. In his last 27 games, Risacher is averaging over 15 points per game on an impressive 62.3% effective field goal percentage. He’s not garnering the respect he deserves in the Rookie of the Year conversations, still trailing Stephon Castle by a considerable margin in odds despite contributing a similar amount with one distinct difference — the Hawks are a playoff team.

Risacher impacts the game in ways that don’t necessarily show up on the box score as well. The Hawks got a good one in the 2024 top overall pick. Now, we watch as he grows into a potential star.