The Atlanta Hawks whiffed on the Zaccharie Risacher draft selection – fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr was the far better prospect.
This isn’t to say Risacher was a horrible pick or that his days in Atlanta are numbered. He is a fine supporting piece with an intriguing combination of size and spacing. Sure, he isn’t the traditional star you get from the first overall pick, but he’ll have a long and successful NBA career. He is also a consummate professional who the Hawks would be proud to have as a cultural leader of this squad.
This stands in contrast to Sarr, who was clearly the best player in the draft but refused to work out for the Hawks in the predraft process. Still, Atlanta should have drafted him.
The Hawks should have put their foot down by selecting Sarr
Hawks fans felt this regret all too well in Tuesday night’s loss to Sarr’s Washington Wizards, where Sarr dropped 27 points, 11 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. In contrast, Risacher also had a good night with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. This game was the perfect encapsulation of the Sarr vs Risacher debate. Risacher is more versatile and will be a solid player, but Sarr is capable of real star production.
Sarr is averaging 18.7 points (+7.0 over Risacher), 8.5 rebounds (+5.7), 3.4 assists (+1.8), 0.7 steals (-0.4), and 2.0 blocks (+1.2) on 56.1% EFG (+4.0%). That is elite for anyone, nonetheless a sophomore center who is probably still developing athletically. He is elite as a roll man or in the post and has already mastered the 10-foot post fade. On D, his otherworldly mobility allows him to wall of the paint singlehandedly.
This isn’t revisionist history, either. Nearly everyone who made a big board had Sarr as the top prospect of the class, including me. It didn’t take a genius to look at Sarr and see the potential path from his raw game to a mature, polished star.
Atlanta allowed a draft prospect to bully them into making the wrong decision for the franchise. This is simply inexcusable for a player of Sarr’s caliber. Sure, the worst-case scenario could’ve got ugly very quickly, but Sarr would be the one hurt the most by a breakdown in the relationship. With a player of Sarr's caliber, any personality issues less destructive to the team than Kyrie Irving's history are acceptable.
The Hawks will be fine with Risacher, and perhaps could find the star they need in the 2026 draft. But each Hawks-Wizards matchup serves as a painful reminder that this team could be a contender today if it had drafted Sarr over Risacher.