Jan 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) dunks the ball against the Utah Jazz during the first quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Zaccharie Risacher's Performance In EuroBasket Is Showing Signs Of A Huge Breakout Season

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Kahlil McCuller | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:45 AM ET

Last year's No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher has not been perfect in this year's EuroBasket Tournament, but he has put together a good enough effort to make one think that a big sophomore season is on the way.

For today's matchup, Zaccharie Risacher and France took on a struggling Iceland team that has gone winless in group play and are the lowest ranked team in Group D. Today, one could argue that France would likely take things lightly and play down to their competition but that certainly was not the case, as they went up by as many as 30 points at halftime.

Efficient Performance from the No. 1 Pick

In his nine minutes of first-half play, Risacher put on a three-point shooting clinic as he went 3/3 from behind the arc in the first half. Coming into today's matchup, Risacher had been shooting the ball at a high clip, as he was shooting 44% from three-point range and 46% from the field. Risacher finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, one steal, and one block on shooting splits of 75% from the field and 60% shooting from three-point range in 21 minutes of play. Risacher was also named the "TCL Player of the Game" for today's performance.

Risacher is 3/3 from 3 to start the game pic.twitter.com/TUi3TLbLzF
— Grant Shirley (@Grant_Shirley4) September 4, 2025

France dominated this game early, and part of this is because knockout seeding is going to come down to who wins these last games in group play, as they are in contention for the top spot with Poland and Israel. France would win this game by 40 points, but it was mainly because of their ability to force and score points off turnovers and score inside the paint with ease, as they scored 60 of their 114 points inside the paint and 20 points off turnovers. France shot the ball exceptionally well, shooting 69% from the field and 39% from three-point range, which led to a 114-74 victory.

As of now, France will be waiting for the next few hours to pass to see who their next opponent will be for the knockout stages of play. However, Atlanta Hawks fans should be happy to see the continued growth of Risacher and continue to speculate as well as be excited for the potential new skills he can bring to the team this season:

"Our identity is not to slow down or play down other teams. For us, it's about making statements and making sure we do what we have to do. We did a great job. We need to stick together and make sure we help each other."