- Zaccharie Risacher Reveals How He Feels After Leaving Atlanta

DALLAS — Zaccharie Risacher went through his first practice with the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. He called it his first day of school.

Dallas acquired Risacher from Atlanta on July 19 in a three-team trade that also involved Oklahoma City and sent Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks. Atlanta took Risacher first overall in the 2024 draft. As a rookie in 2024-25, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 75 games and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

Zaccharie Risacher’s Fresh Start In Dallas

Risacher already feels comfortable in Dallas. He said Friday at media day that being here is a blessing.

“It’s great. Like I said yesterday during media day, it’s a blessing for me to be here. I’m super excited,” Risacher said. “Just fresh start in a new city, in a new organization, and I feel already super comfortable here. And, yeah, I’m happy to be here, honestly.”

The coaches have been easy to talk to so far, according to Risacher, who expects to learn a lot from them.

“It was great. It was great,” Risacher said. “It’s good to, like I said, that’s the first day at school, and I feel like it was great being around those guys and being able to put them working. I think that’s going to be a great season, and I’m super excited about it. Can’t wait to get on the court again.”

Everyone in Dallas is on the same page about winning, Risacher said. He wants to develop as a young player and show his skills on both ends.

“Just, like, be myself. I want to win games. I know. I want to win games. I feel like that’s the main thing,” Risacher said. “And, like, everybody here is on the same page. And I feel like it’s going to be great for me to be able to, like, develop myself as a young player in this group and be able to showcase, like, my skills offensively and defensively as well.”

Mavericks coach Dusty May studied Risacher’s game before and after the trade and spent a lot of time with him this summer.

“Zach has a lot of unique qualities that are going to help our team,” May said. “He’s one of the faster guys in the NBA. He has a great nose for the basketball when it comes to rebounding, running the lanes. And then defensively, he’s much more physical than a guy his size typically is as far as weight and stature. I think he adds a lot to our group.”

Zaccharie Risacher And Cooper Flagg

Dallas wants to guard and play fast, according to Risacher, and May has asked him to push in transition.

“I feel like that’s going to be one of our focus. We can tell from now that we want to guard and we want to play fast,” Risacher said. “That’s one of my strengths, too. I feel like that’s going to be a good fit. We talked about it with Coach Dusty. I know he wants me to push in transition and be effective on that part of the game too. I’ve got a special focus on this when it comes to practice. Get reps in and just be able to play fast.”

Cooper Flagg, the first overall pick in 2025, won Rookie of the Year last season. Risacher likes to play off the ball and expects the two wings to switch across almost every position.

“I feel like we’re going to be a good fit, especially in that team. We’re going to play fast. We want to go. We’re going to play physical, and I feel like that’s going to be a good fit,” Risacher said. “I like to play off-ball too, so I feel like just me being able to get to the right spot, get space, and finish those actions, that’s going to be a big thing. And, yeah, it’s just like playing hard, play hard on defense. Like we can switch, defending almost every position.”

Risacher, Flagg, and Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in 2011, give Dallas three top picks. Risacher said that is not where the team’s focus is.

“I just feel like that’s not where our focus is and we’re trying to win games, have good chemistry with our teammates and everything,” Risacher said. “So yeah, I think, like I said, focusing on the right things will be the main, like, big thing for us.”

Zaccharie Risacher On Draft Night And Atlanta

Risacher did not know he would go first overall until the very end. He knew his workout in Atlanta had gone well and that the feedback was good.

“It was great. It was a dream come true. All my family were here. And, yeah, just like I said, that was my dream since I was like three, four years old,” Risacher said. “So just like that journey, like it’s been a long journey and I feel like it was an accomplishment. And I enjoy the process too as well. It’s been great. A lot of ups and downs, but I feel like it’s a part of the game. And, yeah, like I said, I feel blessed.”

The pressure of being the top pick was real, Risacher said, but the pace of an NBA season did not leave room to dwell on it.

“Yeah, I feel like definitely was a lot of pressure. But at the same time, everything happened so fast that I just put the work in. As an NBA player, there’s so much games you got to get ready. You don’t have time to think about that,” Risacher said. “So I feel like it was good for me to be able to be in Atlanta and also we were trying to win, we’re trying to get to the playoffs and everything, so I didn’t have that much time to overthink.”

Risacher also spent part of the summer with the French national team. He needed high-intensity five-on-five work after not playing much at the end of last season.

“So I feel like it was important to, like, get back on the court and be able to compete at a high level, too,” Risacher said. “And, yeah, right after that, like, I got traded in, and I’ve been to L.A. and Dallas, and now just making sure I was, like, working on my body too, doing all the right stuff to be able to, like, compete and perform for my year three.”

The Mavericks open the preseason against the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 in Macao.