Hawks 2024-25 player profile: Zaccharie Risacher looks ready for the show

“With the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select Zacchrie Risacher.”

Those words, spoken by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on draft night, ushered in a new era for the Atlanta Hawks. There are still many unknowns about that era, including what role three-time All-Star Trae Young will play in it. 

If Risacher’s showing in 2K25 Summer League and the preseason are any indication, he will play a big role immediately. The rookie is next on Soaring Down South’s player profile series.

Zaccharie Risacher 2024-25 player profile: Hawks rookie looks ready for the show

2023-24 stats (JL Bourg - France): 10.1 PPG/3.8 RPG/0.9 APG/0.8 SPG
2024-25 projection: 12.0 PPG/3.5 RPG/0.9 APG/1.0 SPG

This projection is notably low considering the bold prediction about Risacher winning Rookie of the Year. However, this outlook serves more as a baseline expectation. Even then, it might be terribly low after Risacher flashed in the preseason.

The rookie averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while shooting 60% from the floor and 44.4% from beyond the arc.

Most importantly, the 6-foot-10 wing showcased an advanced feel for the game.

He played just two games in summer league and two more in the preseason. The intensity and physicality will ratchet up during the regular season. And it is still unclear (though seemingly unlikely) whether or not Risacher will have a chance to claim a starting spot early on.

He is the top pick of his draft class. 

However, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder spoke about the fluidity with which he views the starting lineup and rotations.

Zaccharie Risacher’s outlook clouded by Hawks’ lineup uncertainty

“I don’t look at it as a positional thing where (we) talk about backup this. It’s the same way you look at a wing,” Snyder said, per Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) on October 20. “Dyson (Daniels) is not Hunt’s (De’Andre Hunter) backup, Zacch’s (Zaccharie Risacher) not Dyson’s backup. Bogi’s (Bogdan Bogdanovic) not Zacch’s backup. Like you have players, and the most important thing is (how) the team functions. And that means, when I say functions, it’s successful.”

Whether or not that is truth or a coaching tactic – both to motivate the Hawks players and keep their opponents in the dark – remains unclear. The Hawks will likely favor some players and combinations over others in specific situations.

Risacher will not be confined to a reserve role for long.

His time may come at the expense of De’Andre Hunter, who was aggressive but ineffective in his limited preseason minutes.