2024 NBA Draft: Zaccharie Risacher, the projected No. 1 pick, is living in the moment

NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama was still the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue at Tuesday’s NBA Draft availability, even though he’s no longer the star of this particular show. Such is life when Wednesday’s first round of the draft lacks spice and recognizable names.

But it’s also the case when players in the running for the first pick — Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher — hail from France as well, thus following in Wembanyama’s footsteps.

Sarr has repeatedly declined invitations to work out for the top-pick holding Atlanta Hawks, which was confirmed by Hawks general manager Landry Fields on the radio earlier in the day.

That leaves Risacher. But in drafts where there’s no clear-cut first pick, anything can happen.

Risacher has long been on the professional radar. He and Sarr go back, playing against each other when they were in their early teens, but Risacher has made a jump over the last year. He’s a 6-foot-9 forward who turned into a lockdown shooter after seemingly struggling at the Nike Hoop Summit a year ago.

Zaccharie Risacher answers questions on the eve of the 2024 NBA Draft at the Lotte New York Palace in New York, on June 25, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

“The fact I was on a professional team, with a role, and I was considered a part of a winning team and not just an NBA prospect, somebody who needed minutes, year-round professional experience, people, training, just made me realize that I could do something great in the season as a player and as a team,” Risacher said at New York’s Lotte Palace hotel, where dozens of green room invitees had short sessions with the media.”

“And also, working out every day. I think as soon as you do the work, you start to have more confidence and use it right now.”

Although he won’t turn 20 until next season, there’s a straightforwardness about him when he speaks. His English is a work in progress, but his intentions are clear. Once, when someone tried to ask a question while he was still answering the previous one, he said very firmly, “I’m still talking.”

That moment, small as it may be, signals a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-draft-zaccharie-risacher-the-projected-no-1-pick-is-living-in-the-moment-234308544.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-25 23:43:08

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.