The Atlanta Hawks undeniably had one of the best offseasons of 2025, gearing the team for their first real chance at a title in years. Without Zaccharie Risacher flourishing in Jalen Johnson's absence, however, the Hawks may not have made the moves they did.
A Hawks front office executive said to Spotrac's Keith Smith that "a big part of the reason we were willing to add guys to push forward was the play of Zaccharie Risacher. From Christmas on, he was awesome. Go look up the stats and you’ll see how good he was after Christmas. We know what Trae (Young) and Jalen (Johnson) are. Dyson (Daniels) is become a big-time player. But Zaccharie gave us the confidence to add to the roster"
The stats indeed confirm the executive's conclusion, as Risacher averaged 14.6 points on 50% from the field and 41% from three after All-Star weekend. While his per-game averages did not change drastically, he increased his percentages from the field and deep by over 6% and 8% respectively after the break. This shooting development opened up Risacher's other offensive strengths as a connective passer and cutter, making Risacher look like the perfect wing to support Young.
Atlanta's swing for the fences was only possible with full faith in Risacher
Risacher was selected first overall over the media-favorite and fellow Frenchman Alexandre Sarr because of his ability to immediately impact winning basketball. Where some saw more upside in Sarr, the Hawks saw Risacher as the final piece of their young core, locking down the ever-elusive elite 3-and-D wing for the club.
With the second apron shortening the championship window for all teams, Atlanta has to exercise caution before making ambitious moves that potentially hamstring their ability to make future moves. The Boston Celtics, who won the NBA finals just last year, were forced to blow their team up this offseason to avoid the dastardly effects of overspending in the new CBA.
After Risacher developed quicker than expected, the Hawks found themselves with an elite starting roster from 1-4. This allowed Atlanta to feel comfortable adding Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard, and Caleb Houstan to round out an elite nine-man playoff rotation.
While the Hawks didn't forfeit future draft capital or cap flexibility with their moves, they project to have an incredibly expensive team after presumably re-signing both Young and Daniels next offseason. Now, Atlanta has added the key pieces they need to challenge for a title before spending what could be over $75 million for their two star guards.
Perhaps the Hawks would have sat on their hands and remained inactive this offseason without Risacher's remarkable mid-season improvement. While last season's finish was a disappointment after missing the playoffs, Risacher's level of play was the silver lining that created possibly the most exciting era of Atlanta basketball in decades.