Perhaps the easiest way to think about Zaccharie Risacher’s game is to compare it to his English. Both productions are in the works and are a perfect fit for a 19-year-old NBA rookie who was born in Spain to French parents and has spent most of his life in France. Neither is completely perfect, but both are probably better than you expect. Both will get better over time.
His English proficiency was evident during an hour-long conversation in New York in October: Rissacher demonstrated a solid command of the English language, much of which he learned from teammates in LNB Elite, France’s top professional league 2021 , he made his senior debut at the age of 16 and spent the next three seasons. “This is locker room English, not the English you expect to learn in a classroom,” he said. There are also movies, especially basketball movies, e.g. he has game and coach carterhe was recently able to watch the show without the French dub. “Of course, their English is actually better.”
Based on initial impressions from the NBA preseason, Lisachel’s experience in the French professional league will also be beneficial to the development of his game. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound wing was selected by Atlanta with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and made a fantastic first impression in his NBA debut, Scored 18 points (9-of-7 from the field) in just 23 minutes. Those numbers and results may not factor into the Eagles’ hopes for a bounce-back season, but Rissacher’s playing value is just as real.
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“It looked like he was enjoying it,” Eagles coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the game. “He’s going to have good games and he’s going to have some bad games, but seeing him have fun with his teammates and these guys helping each other out, that’s what I love.”
Hawks starting player Trae Young is also pleased with what he sees from his new running mate. “It was a really great show,” Young said. “I hope he feels like he felt tonight, like he had no pressure. He can go out and be himself. He’s going to have a hell of a career.
None of this is surprising — by definition, we expect big things from the No. 1 pick — but there isn’t as much focus on Rissacher as there was on his compatriot Victor Wembanyama when the Spurs made him What comes before and after being the best player you can be. So, no, he’s not being heralded as a generational game-changer like Wimby was, and he’s not even a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year among the 30 general managers who participated in the annual NBA General Manager Survey. (Five players received at least one vote in the poll, and Rissacher was somehow not one of them.) None of that seemed to bother him. Rissacher knows his worth and believes the glimpses he showed in the preseason are just the beginning.
“I’m the kind of player who can do a lot of things on the pitch – I guess in English the word would be ‘versatile’?” he said. “It’s exciting to have me on your team…I’m happy to do whatever it takes to win. That’s the type of player I am. And I want to win.
Versatility on the field comes easily to those players who are born to play.
“Basketball is a habit for me and my family,” he said. “Basketball was here before I was born.” That’s what happens when you’re born into the midst of your father’s 23-year career, as Zachary was. Risachel was born in Malaga, Spain in 2005. His father, Stéphane, plays for the Malaga team in the Spanish top league. It was one of 10 stops in Stéphane’s career from 1987 to 2010, which also included stints in Greece and his native France. A six-time All-Star for France and a member of the country’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Stéphane has been a regular with the French national team for many years, winning a silver medal with the 2000 Olympic squad and, coincidentally, becoming a member of the French national team as well. .
slam dunk of the dead This happened five years before Zaccharie was born, so he only knows about it through YouTube clips. But his own earliest memories are naturally related to basketball. “I can’t even remember the first time I played,” he said. “It’s just there. Going to my dad’s practices and games, going to the gym with him at a young age — that’s what I did, and I never stopped playing basketball. It’s the lifestyle I love. .I never felt like I had to do it. I just wanted to go to the gym with my dad and I wanted to be the best version of myself that I could be and do what my dad did, or even better.
Rissacher emphasized that his father never pushed too hard and only gave his son the guidance he asked for. (Obviously, this approach runs in the family: Not only was Stéphane instrumental in helping Zaccharie get to the NBA, but his daughter, Zaccharie’s sister Ainhoa, is one of the most promising young players in Europe; she was recently drafted Named one of the most promising young players in Europe, better than me, she is tall and she loves to have the ball.
Zachary’s own breakthrough came in 2021 when he made his debut in the French league for the ASVEL Basket senior team. And what it’s like to play against grown men. Looking back, he said: “Being a pro at 16 years old was definitely the biggest challenge of my life. In our league, coaches can be fired very quickly. They don’t have time to be nice. For a 16-year-old It’s a lot to deal with as a person. You have to learn fast because you’re playing with adults. How do I deal with it?
Risacher performed well enough to be selected as an LNB All-Star in 2023 and was named a European Cup Rising Star earlier this year; more importantly, the experience has strengthened him and allowed him to believe that when he makes the jump to the NBA, He’ll be better prepared than most rookies to recognize the risks involved. This made it easier for him to settle in after moving to the United States. He said he “felt at home right away” in Atlanta, which he attributed to the atmosphere in the city and the Hawks. Besides the good vibes, he took the transition seriously, working hard between the draft and training camp. “I want to do better than I did in June,” he insisted.
He’ll also get a chance to connect with his All-Star teammate, and successfully working with him will be crucial to the Hawks’ hopes of improving from last season’s disappointment. Recent highlights: Traveling to Oklahoma to visit Young’s hometown, attending a University of Oklahoma football game and appearing on Young’s podcast. “I’m really grateful to him,” Rissacher said of the trip. “It really means something to me.”
The rookie doesn’t need his own podcast to give back. He just needs to keep working hard and developing his potential and versatile skillset, which convinced Atlanta to use the No. 1 overall pick. There’s no doubt this result means a lot to Trae, his new team, and the long-suffering Eagles fans who are ready to root for a contender.
Portrait of Christian Quesada.
Photo via Getty Images.
