The pressure of being the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft never goes away. I understand that. But if Hawks fans can view Zaccharie Risacher as another young, promising prospect, instead of expecting him to save the franchise, then watching him grow will become less anxiety-inducing and more fun. And fun is better, if you ask me. The next development for Risacher? Continued growth with the ball in his hands.
Risacher wasn't asked to create much offense last year — as is common among 19 year-old rookies. He was assisted on over 73% of his two-point attempts and over 97% of his three-point attempts. He drove just 3.6 times per game (fifth on the team) and his isolation possessions were mostly nonexistent. This was a good approach by head coach Quin Snyder; there was no reason to overwhelm Risacher with responsibilities in his first season. But in year two, I expect we'll see Risacher become more of an offensive focal point than the auxiliary piece he was in 2024-25.
Risacher can be a good player if he keeps improving his slashing (he averaged 1.35 points per possession on cuts), catch-and-shoot ability (36.7% on C&S threes) and on-ball defense. He can get closer to a star if he becomes a somewhat consistent on-ball creator.
The best outcome for Risacher's current skill set is probably close to Dorian Finney-Smith. Not bad! But adding a little wiggle to his offensive game, and adding the confidence to create for himself, could make his final form closer to a Mikal Bridges / Michael Porter Jr. hybrid. Before you yell at me for that comparison, please remember that both of those guys will make nearly $40 million next season.
Zaccharie Risacher did plenty in year one to excite Hawks fans
Staying patient with Risacher's development — No. 1 pick or not — was always going to be key. He was a teenager who averaged 22 minutes per game in France, and now he's entering his second NBA season at barely 20 years old. I'd say he's ahead of schedule if anything.
Rookie years are always uneven, and Risacher's was no different; but any rookie who scores 38 points on 15-20 shooting, no matter when in the season it happened, and no matter who it happened against, has my attention — and Risacher did that!
The rookie seasons of high-level prospects are like if a really good chef tried to cook with the lights off. Like, obviously this person knows what they're doing, and every once in a while things still turn out alright, but there's still a serious learning curve as they adjust to new circumstances.
If Risacher can figure out how to turn the lights on full-time in year two, his final product could be delicious.