ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Zaccharie Risacher says he's not worried about the expectations that accompany being the in the NBA draft 鈥� even if that also includes the daunting task of following fellow French star Victor Wembanyama.
鈥淚 feel like there is no pressure,鈥� Risacher said Friday in his introductory news conference in Atlanta. 鈥淚 just focus on the good stuff, you know, on the right stuff, which is playing here. I鈥檓 just excited to be with the Hawks right now, and I want to compete and win games. So that鈥檚 all.鈥�
Wembanyama was last year's No. 1 overall pick by San Antonio and was a unanimous selection for .
鈥淚f I had to give him one advice to him, it would be to just be yourself, don鈥檛 change for anything, don鈥檛 let the pressure change you, don鈥檛 let fame, money whatever,鈥� Wembanyama said Thursday in Paris. 鈥淏ut I know Zacch, he鈥檚 got it.鈥�
Risacher said he hasn't received pointers from Wembanyama. When asked if he learned anything from watching Wembanyama's rookie season, Risacher said his best lessons came from following Wembanyama's exploits as a professional in France. Risacher followed that path by playing for the same French club, JL Bourg, in 2023-24.
鈥淭hat was great,鈥� Risacher said. 鈥淵ou know, for myself, for a younger dude like me to see just him growing so fast and, like, I guess, dominated the France championship. That鈥檚 what I wanted to do when I came to Bourg.鈥�
The 6-foot-9 Risacher (pronounced Ree-zah-shay) became only the second overall No. 1 pick in Atlanta history, following David Thompson, who in 1975 chose to play for the ABA's Denver Nuggets.
The pressure that goes with the No. 1 pick doesn't just fall on Risacher, who at 19 will be expected to play a significant role immediately. General manager Landry Fields also will be scrutinized after he helped to carve out minutes for the rookie by to Houston on Thursday. The Hawks ended up acquiring rights to guard/forward Nikola Djurisic of Serbia as part of that deal.
Risacher, who impressed the Hawks with his catch-and-shoot skills and ability to defend multiple positions, could compete with De'Andre Hunter for minutes at small forward. The rookie joins guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray and forward Jalen Johnson as the foundation for a team that hasn't won a playoff series since advancing to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 hard to project out in terms of playing minutes and all that stuff,鈥� Fields said after making Risacher the top pick on Wednesday night. 鈥淏ut of course we want him to be the absolute best player he can be. How we鈥檙e defining a franchise player, I鈥檒l leave that to you. But there鈥檚 nobody that wants to see him succeed more than us, and we鈥檙e going to absolutely set him up to do that.鈥�
Fields followed up on that vow with the trade of Griffin, a 2022 first-round pick.
鈥淲e're always going to look for ways to improve the team,鈥� Fields said Friday.
Risacher's family, including his father, six-time French all-star Stephane Risacher, attended Friday's news conference. Stephane Risacher won a silver medal for France in the 2000 Summer Olympics and closely monitored his son's growth as a player.
Stephane Risacher said he was smart enough to retire from backyard competitions when his son was 15.
鈥淭hat was totally unfair,鈥� the elder Risacher said with a smile. 鈥淚 knew that was it. I retired. I'm still undefeated.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Charles Odum, The Associated Press
