Another French top pick: Zaccharie Risacher starts life in the NBA

ATLANTA – French teenager Zaccharie Risacher has said he is staying humble as the No. 1 draft pick enters his first National Basketball Association (NBA) season with the Atlanta Hawks, following in the huge footsteps of compatriot Victor Wembanyama.

For the second year in a row, the 2024 top pick was not only a Frenchman, but like Wembanyama in 2023, Risacher came from the French domestic league rather than through the United States college system.

Just months ago, Risacher, a 19-year-old 2.06m forward, was playing in gyms holding a few thousand people for modest JL Bourg in France’s top division.

Now he will be regularly performing in front of more than 15,000 people every night in the world’s top league. He made his debut in the Hawks’ 120-116 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Oct 23, contributing seven points off the bench.

It has been a whirlwind.

“I did my first house move on my own. All the things related to it had to be managed – my driver’s licence, buying a car, finding a personal chef. It’s all to try to make my life as easy as possible, to prepare as best as possible for the season, so that everything then works out and goes well,” Risacher said.

“It’s true that it’s a change. And doing that in another country, in another language, is quite complicated.

“I have a good team around me. I am very grateful for that. I feel like I’m making progress little by little. The most important thing is to work with your teammates, and to dare to ask questions.”

An essential part of that team around him is his father Stephane, also a basketballer, who plied his trade in Europe’s top leagues without making it to the NBA.

When Risacher was a child, his father put him through workouts using a hoop he had erected in the family’s garden – now Stephane is helping his son go through the paces in Atlanta.

So, did he feel it was his destiny to reach the NBA?

“Not particularly,” he said. “I know I am where I am because of me. Nobody forced me, nobody worked for me. I really think I created this opportunity for myself, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion.

“Secondly though, once I had decided as a child that I wanted to follow this path, I was very well supported by my family. With my background and the experience that my father has, as soon as I decided to go for it, I had a good support network, whether it was to advise me on the court or even off it.”

Wembanyama, who lit up the league in his first season at the San Antonio Spurs, winning Rookie of the Year, is a tough act to follow.

However, Risacher says he is just trying to adjust to a different style of play compared to Europe.

“It’s the speed. It’s a really fast style of play here,” he said.

“In training games, there is a lot of going up and down the court. The other guys were used to that, both physically and mentally. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t ready, but it’s a different playing style and I had to get my bearings and get used to it.” AFP