The NBA needs to wake up to Hawks’ top pick Zaccharie Risacher

It’s just the Hawks‘ luck to finally win the NBA lottery, only for it to be dubbed the worst draft class in a decade.

There wasn’t a Zion Williamson or Anthony Edwards. Hell, a year sooner or a year later, and the Hawks would’ve been in a position to select Victory Wembanyama or Cooper Flagg. Instead, the Hawks landed on Zaccharie Risacher.

While the rest of the NBA world laughed initially, the 19-year-old Frenchman has quietly been surging over the last couple of months, and the rest of the Association needs to wake up to his play.

Risacher is coming off a 27-point effort in a last-second win over the Grizzlies. He shot 11-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep while chipping in four steals. It brings his game averages to 11.7 points per game on 43.7% shooting from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc, to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

But somehow, the Hawks forward has garnered virtually no national recognition while Spurs rookie Stephon Castle is showered with praise and is a heavy favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, followed by Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells.

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Stephon Castle (-250): 13.2 points per game, 46.9% eFG%, 3.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds -0.7 VORP

Jaylen Wells (+300): 11.4 points per game, 55.7% eFG%, 1.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.2 VORP

Zaccharie Risacher (+1600): 11.7 points per game, 51% eFG%, 1.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds, -0.6 VORP

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I’m not saying Risacher deserves to be the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, but the odds don’t accurately reflect just how similar the three have played as first-year players.

More impressively than the entire season is how Risacher has played since returning from injury. In those 14 games, the Hawks rookie is averaging 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 53.8% shooting from the field and 50.8% from three-point range.

He’s not going to get the national recognition that he deserves, but Zaccharie Risacher has the potential to be a building black in Atlanta. He does a little bit of everything well, featuring a high basketball IQ and an offensive game that has taken massive strides in his first season.

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