It's been a roller coaster of a season for fans of the Atlanta Hawks.
Heading into the 2026 All-Star break, the team had picked up three consecutive losses. Seriously, the chance to regroup couldn't have come at a better time. As much as it hurts to not have Hawks basketball every other night, the defeats were going to keep stacking if it weren't for the much-needed February rest.
Even without the team playing, fans still had plenty to watch for. Atlanta had two participants slated to perform each night of the weekend festivities, and there was a fair amount of excitement that followed.
It all began on Friday. The least intriguing of the three nights, the initial events of All-Star weekend are still good fun, especially when the Hawks have a representative. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta's second-year forward and former first-overall pick, was set to participate in the Rising Stars Tournament for the second consecutive year.
It should've been known that it wasn't going to be a big night for Risacher. Not that he didn't belong, but the league sure didn't think he did. He wasn't among the players originally selected as a Rising Star. When Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell went down with an injury, however, Atlanta's young forward got another chance.
He was added to the roster as an injury replacement. With that sentiment in place, despite being the #1 pick just the year before, Zaccharie Risacher would come off the bench for Team T-Mac. The chances of him having a quality performance were slim from the jump.
In his limited minutes, Risacher sure didn't help his case...
Well, when he did get playing time, he certainly didn't make the most of it. Not that he wasn't trying. He actually generated plenty of quality looks, but nothing seemed to fall. Atlanta's second-year forward was 0/5 from the field in four minutes.
To make matters worse, Team T-Mac got off to a hot start and ended up losing by five. If Risacher knocked down just one or two of his five shot attempts, his team very well could have advanced to the final round.
Well, that wasn’t fun.
— Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) February 14, 2026
A poor performance in an exhibition game is usually no reason to panic. This specific instance, however, is just another layer to an already concerning trend in play. It's been an overall disappointing second season for the former first-overall pick. There's no way around it.
It was known when he was drafted that he wasn't going to play like a traditional top pick. His archetype, while valuable in the right situation, is limited. When he's on, he's unstoppable. When he's off, it can get ugly fast.
The latter took place on Friday night. Theoretically, his PR can only go up from here, but he needs to turn it around quickly. Fans around the league have begun to take notice of his struggles, and if he doesn't come out of the break firing, there will be plenty of pressure on Atlanta's front office to make a change.