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Feb 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) goes up for a dunk in the third quarter in the third quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Zaccharie Risacher Plays Well in France's EuroBasket Win Against Belgium

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Kahlil McCuller | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 9:16 PM ET

Today, France began EuroBasket play and had a much-expected blowout victory against Belgium, with many standout moments in the game. Overall, it was a solid team performance, with five players scoring in double figures and a viral moment that even had Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young happy enough to post about it on Instagram.

Early in the second quarter, Risacher had a poster dunk that got social media buzzing and essentially set the tone for France to take over from there forward, as they never looked back after going up double digits. This wasn't the only impressive moment from Risacher; however, he showed much promise offensively as a whole, as he was able to create openings for his teammates to score, and this is something he discussed as a goal to add to his game.

OH MY ZACCHARIE RISACHER!

One-handed POSTER SLAM in EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/UwPzJtJWDT
— NBA (@NBA) August 28, 2025

Risacher creating open shots for himself and his teammates purely from his off-ball movement

Zacch is a master of constantly relocating and probing the defense, which is why he's an additive offensive player without on-ball touches pic.twitter.com/a5R8Z7t8fo
— #InSnyderWeTrust (@dlee4three) August 28, 2025

Risacher stated: "I want to be more comfortable with my ball-handling. It’s another part of my game I want to improve—being able to get to my spots and be efficient with the ball in my hands, so I don’t have to wait until someone gives me the ball. I want to be able to create opportunities to score, or, when there isn’t any playmaking, still make something happen. I think that’s the next step for me—being more comfortable with the ball in my hands."

Risacher finished the game with efficient output, as he had 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal with a 14 plus-minus in just 18 minutes of play. Another area where Risacher has shown improvement this summer and in this game is defensively, where he played well in the driving and passing lanes at times. However, he must show more consistency in those areas if he wants to be regarded as elite. There were times throughout this game and others when he appeared inconsistent and struggled to defend his assignment, as well as missed opportunities for steals and blocks. In the video below, you will see some of the points I mentioned.

Big area of improvement for Zacch on defense is to play the passing/driving lanes much more often

He has a tendency to stick to his man no matter what, playing where his matchup IS versus where the ball will be

Resulted in missed STL chances, open drives and backdoor cuts pic.twitter.com/De2tadHBQP
— #InSnyderWeTrust (@dlee4three) August 28, 2025

As far as overall impact goes, Risacher is on a stacked French team, so his minutes and opportunities to prove himself as an all-around player can be limited, but it would be nice to see him put on more consistent play on both ends of the court. When watching him play, he has displayed flashes of what he can be, but there are many times when you could find yourself wanting more out of him as far as overall impact and statsheet numbers.

“While the numbers are not out of this world, the former first overall pick displayed flashes of brilliance on both ends, making his impact felt and leading his country to a statement win.”

My latest for @SoaringDwnSouth: https://t.co/PllYAjLsRx
— Zach Langley (@langleyatl) August 28, 2025

As a team, Frances' impact stood out on both ends of the court, but defensively, that is where they're impact was felt as they had 10 steals as a team and scored 19 points off turnovers. They will take on Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see who will likely guard Doncic and if France can keep up the defensive output they had today against Belgium.