Hawks youngster Zaccharie Risacher finished second in Rookie of the Year voting after a productive start to his NBA career. In his debut season, Risacher averaged a solid 12.6 points on 45.8% shooting from the field. He led all rookies in 30-point games with four of them.
In a recent exclusive interview with Esports Insider’s Kyle Odegard, Hawks legend and Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins addressed Risacher’s sky-high potential and why fans should stay patient when it comes to his development.
“The young fella (Zaccharie) Risacher – I tell people, be patient with this kid,” Wilkins said. “He’s going to be pretty good. This year alone he had two or three 30-point games. This kid can play. He’s young. People have to let him grow. He’s only 19 years old, but he’s going to be special. I love this kid.”
At his age, Risacher has plenty of time to grow his game from a physical and mental standpoint. He has already been seen putting in the work to build more muscle and bulk up ahead of next season.
Wilkins, a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA recipient, believes in Risacher’s ceiling as much as anyone. With youth on his side, Zacch Attack should continue to make strides this summer and into the fall.
Zaccharie Risacher's upside outweighs his rookie-year growing pains
Although he flashed multiple signs of major potential, Risacher frustrated Hawks fans with some inconsistent production at times. The Frenchman scored single-digit points in five of his last ten games of the regular season, but he also dropped 36 points and 38 points in two of those ten outings.
Risacher’s 38-point explosion came against the Brooklyn Nets with three games left of the season, marking a career high for the 20-year-old. He shot a remarkable 15/20 from the field and 6/11 from three with a team-high +28 plus-minus for Atlanta.
With his 6-foot-11 wingspan and versatile two-way upside, Risacher has shades of a young Jayson Tatum in his game. The young Hawks forward would surely sign up for Tatum’s first eight years of individual and team accomplishments if he could.
Tatum has evolved into a perennial All-NBA First-Teamer, but he only averaged 13.9 points as a rookie. While Risacher didn’t lead the Hawks to a conference finals or dunk on LeBron James in his first playoffs like a rookie Tatum did, Atlanta’s No. 1 pick steadily improved as a scorer and defender throughout his Year 1 journey.
Wilkins also discussed the luxury of starting for a 40-win team as a rookie, which gave Risacher no choice but to play smarter and harder as the season progressed.
“Guys at that age have to go through a learning curve, but he learned very quickly. In the very beginning he got pushed around a little bit, but he showed no fear,” Wilkins said. “As the season went on, you could see him progressing more and more. The great thing is, he had a chance to learn on the job in a starting role. He got there quicker than some of the rookies who came in this past year. He was able to play with a great point guard and a nice supporting cast to help him along.”
Rookie-year Risacher provided the Hawks with a steady 3-and-D spark, but he will become a larger part of Atlanta’s offense as he matures and develops his abilities.
Wilkins summed it up best in his interview. Fans must let Risacher grow into the player he is meant to become. And that looks like one hell of a player.