Hawks’ biggest concern about Zaccharie Risacher after Summer League

When the Atlanta Hawks drafted Zaccharie Risacher was awarded the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and it changed the franchise forever.

Granted, Risacher wasn’t considered a prospect on the same level as Victor Wembanyama, or even Trae Young when he went off the board a few years ago, but after a lackluster season, Atlanta skyrocketed up the board as a Hawk Condor took the first pick and ultimately went with the player he liked best, rather than trying to trade the pick elsewhere for another player.

Did the Hawks get the best player in the draft? Arguably; some fans and pundits favored fellow American Alexandre Sarr, who opted not to work out with the team in hopes of forcing his way to Washington. Still, at this point, it’s all semantics; Risacher is a Hawks player, and his focus now should be on ensuring the Hawks can take a step forward in their quest for excellence.

Taking the field for the Hawks in the Summer League, Risacher has delivered a mixed bag for fans hoping to see the next great small forward with inside-out versatility, with the 19-year-old French forward losing out to Sarr in their 1-2 throwdown and suffering a quad injury that kept him out until the end. Granted, when Risacher did play, he showed flashes of the two-way forward that is worthy of a huge contractual investment going forward, with his mid-range game certainly translating to the NBA level and his size appearing to be an asset in Quinn Schnyder’s defensive scheme, but it’s hard to be left with more answers than questions heading into the fall, especially if he misses any time due to his quad injury.

Could Risacher be the kind of player who can propel the Hawks into the future, get the team back to the playoffs and form a perfect three/four pairing with Jalen Johnson while rotating alongside versatile players like Larry Nance Jr., De’Andre Hunter and Dyson Daniels? Or will he struggle to make the transition from the LNB to the NBA and keep the Hawks in the lottery despite his top skills? Well, if Risacher can start the majority of the Hawks’ games this fall and look like a natural next to Young and co., it’s safe to say Atlanta’s hopes will be at an all-time high, even if it takes a season or two to get there.

Hawks GM Landry Fields has big hopes for Zaccharie Risacher

While Risacher is still out in judgment after seeing him look so average during Summer League, there are fans, pundits and decision makers who are very excited about everything he has to offer, including the man who drafted him, Landry Fields.

Fields discussed his decision to draft Risacher and everything the team was excited about regarding his professional prospects for the 2024 NBA draft. He praised the French forward’s skills and noted that there simply aren’t that many players who fit his profile, especially at such a young age.

“Well, you start with what you see, and that is he’s 6’10 and has the ability to play both sides of the ball, the ability to defend, a versatile defender, a really good shooter and a high IQ player,” Landry Fields told reporters, via Sports Illustrated. “You know, the amount of development he’s had so far has been fantastic, he’s only 19, he’ll be 19 next year, and I’ve consistently talked about all the important qualities for us in the past, about those types of players and who we want in the building at the end of the day and he possesses a significant amount of that.”

When the NBA season begins this fall, Risacher will not only be one of the youngest starters in the NBA, but also one of the youngest players in the NBA era, as he won’t turn 20 until April 8, a few weeks before his rookie season ends. If Risacher is this good at this young age, winning multiple Rising Star awards in the LNB and EuroCup before taking his talents stateside, who knows how high his ceiling will be, especially considering he won’t be at his best by NBA standards until 2031, by which time he’ll be half a decade into his NBA career and potentially on his second NBA contract in Atlanta or elsewhere.