NEW YORK — The Atlanta Hawks selected French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the first pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
Risacher became the second consecutive international prospect — and fourth overall — to be taken with the top overall pick in the draft. He follows fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, who went No. 1 to the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s draft.
Italian big man Andrea Bargnani was taken first by the Toronto Raptors in 2006, while the Houston Rockets took Hall of Fame center Yao Ming with the top pick in 2002.
Risacher, 19, played this past season for JL Bourg in France’s LNB Elite league and averaged 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds across competition in both the EuroCup and the French league. He is the son of longtime French professional basketball player Stephane Risacher, who won a silver medal with the French national team at the Olympic Games in 2000.
The 6-foot-9 forward separated himself throughout the draft process, with Atlanta — which jumped up from the 11th spot to the top spot in the NBA draft lottery last month for the first time in franchise history. Now, Risacher will go into a frontcourt alongside breakout forward Jalen Johnson with the Hawks, who enter the offseason with plenty of questions surrounding the future of their star-laden backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
Fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr, also 19, was taken at No. 2 by the Washington Wizards, while Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard went to the Houston Rockets at No. 3.
During his introductory remarks, NBA commissioner Adam Silver congratulated the Boston Celtics on winning the 2024 NBA title — drawing boos from the several thousand fans assembled here — and remarked on how the Celtics built their team through drafting Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum third in the 2016 and 2017 drafts.
Silver’s comments came with an ironic twist, as the draft was being held here at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where the Nets make their home — the team that sent the Celtics the picks that became Brown and Tatum as part of the trade that brought Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett here in 2013.
Unlike last year’s draft, with Wembanyama the obvious selection all the way through, it was a much more muddled process this year, with Risacher, Sarr, Sheppard and Connecticut center Donovan Clingan all discussed as possible options before Atlanta landed on Risacher with the selection.
After the Hawks took Risacher, Washington then selected Sarr, a versatile 7-foot forward who has drawn some comparisons to longtime NBA star Al Horford, with the second pick, as had been widely expected, setting the stage for the first true dramatic moment when the Rockets went on the clock with the third overall selection.
Houston, which had this pick because it acquired it from the Nets in the James Harden trade in 2021, then took Sheppard, the sharpshooter from Kentucky who hit 52% of his 3s with the Wildcats, with the third overall selection, adding to a burgeoning young talent base with the Rockets that includes guard Amen Thompson, forward Jabari Smith Jr. and center Alperen Sengun.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
