Despite lacking the star level upside of a typical no. 1 pick, there was a lot to like about Zaccharie Risacher’s rookie season.
For the no. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, it was an up and down – or rather a down, then up – rookie season for Zaccharie Risacher.
Risacher started out slowly, averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on unspectacular 40/28/71* shooting splits through the first 39 games of the season.
*FG%/3P%/FT%
Though he displayed sound decision making and solid defensive chops for a 19 year-old getting to experience his first taste of NBA action*, outside of a 33 point (11-for-18 shooting, 6-for-10 from three), seven rebound, five ‘stock’ outburst against the Knicks on November 6th, it appeared as if Risacher was going to take the scenic route towards becoming a reliable offensive player. His three-point percentage over the first half of the season (28.1%) ranked 118th out of 120 players who had attempted at least four threes per game (min. 750 minutes played) per pbpstats. His True Shooting (48.9%) ranked 117th.
*As a starter nonetheless!
Over the second half of the season however, Risacher flipped the script. After missing two weeks with a right adductor strain in January, the rookie caught fire over his next 36 games, averaging 14.8 points, 3.7 boards and 1.3 assists on 51/42/71 shooting splits, while taking home Rookie of the Month honors in both February and March.
After being one of the least efficient high-volume shooters in the league at the beginning of the year, Risacher’s three-point percentage over the second half of the season (41.9%) ranked 16th out of the 105 players who attempted at least 4 threes per game (min. 750 minutes played) while his True Shooting (62.7%) ranked 19th.
Amongst his most impressive outings over this stretch, he scored 30 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from three in a loss to the Cavs on January 30th. On March 3rd, he dropped 27 points and racked up 5 ‘stocks’ in a win over Memphis, shooting 11-for-13 from the field and 5-for-7 from three. On March 30th, he scored 36 points and snagged 6 rebounds while going 5-for-11 from deep in a win against Milwaukee. Last but certainly not least, on April 10th, he scored a career-high 38 points on 15-for-20 shooting (6-for-11 from three) against a severely undermanned* Brooklyn Nets team during the final week of the regular season.
*Though 38 points on 20 shots is nothing to scoff at regardless of the competition
Unfortunately, Risacher’s impressive efficiency to close the regular season did not translate to the Play-In Tournament. He scored seven points on 2-for-10 shooting (1-for-5 from three) in their first game against Orlando, followed up by three points on 1-for-11 shooting (0-for-7 from three) in the do-or-die game against Miami.
Still, despite his season ending with a couple of duds, I remain optimistic when it comes to Risacher’s future outlook. For a player who was billed as a ready made ‘3&D’ wing without quite having star-level upside during the pre-draft process, his rookie season went about as expected, and his play over the second half of the season was highly encouraging.
Risacher ended the season with ‘per game’ averages of 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks while shooting 45.8% from the floor, 35.5% from three (4.5 attempts per game) and 71.1% from the free-throw line. He finished second to Spurs’ rookie, Stephon Castle, in the Rookie of the Year race, and just yesterday, was named to the All-Rookie First Team along with Castle, Alex Sarr (Washington), Zach Edey (Memphis), and Jaylen Wells (Memphis). Risacher ranked second amongst all rookies in total points, 13th in total rebounds, and 11th in three-point percentage (min. 50 three-pointers attempted).
I did a deep dive on Risacher’s rookie season a few weeks ago where I discussed his scoring ability, playmaking and defensive impact in depth (which you can find here), but I’ll go over a few of the key points below.
Three Point Shooting
Nearly 90% of Risacher’s 344 three-point attempts from this season came off the catch, and it’s no secret that his catch-and-shoot three point shooting ability is the most important part of his offensive game for him to develop in order to reach his NBA ceiling.
Though he shot a respectable 36.7% on these looks (42.5% since January 15th), as referenced above, he simply has to prove that he can be a consistent threat from beyond the arc for the Hawks to maximize their offensive potential when he shares the court with Trae Young and Jalen Johnson – two elite passers with a lot of on-ball gravity.
Looking at Risacher’s shot profile, something that really stands out is how much more proficient he was from the corners than he was from above the break (ATB) this season. Through the first 39 games of the season, Risacher shot just 18.3% on ATB threes*. Over the last 36 games, he shot 38.3% on these looks which, as you can see below, was the driving factor behind his improved three-point shooting over the second half of the season.
*Literally the lowest mark out of the 145 players (min. 750 minutes played) who took at least two ATB threes per game through January 15th
Something else that stands out in Risacher’s three-point shooting numbers is that the vast majority of his looks (both before and after January 15) came without a defender within 6-feet*, which speaks highly of both his shot selection (he’s not forcing things) as well as the quality of looks that are available to him in Atlanta’s offense**.
*attempts that nba.com/stats classifies as “wide open”
**Per BBall-Index, Risacher’s three-point shot quality ranked in the 83rd percentile amongst all movement shooters this season
The opportunities are going to be there for Risacher, if he can prove that his three-point shooting over the second half of the season was not an anomaly, he’s going to be an excellent fit in Atlanta’s starting lineup for years to come.
Inside The Arc Scoring
While three-point shooting is Risacher’s calling card, 56% of his field-goal attempts this season came from inside the arc, with his two-point field goal percentage (53.9%) ranking in the 51st percentile amongst all forwards, per cleaningtheglass.
Just like his three-point percentage, Risacher’s two-point field-goal percentage also improved dramatically as the season went on, as he shot just 58.1% at the rim and 37% from floater distance through January 15th, and 64.5% at the rim and 50.7% from floater range over the second half of the season.
While he impressed with his ability to finish in transition, as well as with his off-ball movement and cutting prowess in the half-court*, one area that he could stand to improve in this summer is his ability to score off drives.
*over 70% of his two-point makes were assisted by a teammate, per CTG
Though he didn’t drive all that often (3.6 times per game, per nba.com/stats) his field goal percentage on these plays (42.1%) ranked 130th out of the 144 players who took at least two attempts off of drives this season*, making this an obvious part of his game for him to work on this offseason.
*min. 35 games played
Playmaking/Rebounding
Risacher didn’t do a whole lot of on-ball creation, and averaged just 1.2 assists per game this season. That being said, despite the low volume, I came away impressed with the playmaking chops he displayed over the course of the year.
I included some clips in the breakdown I did back in March, but in summary, he impressed with his drive-and-kick game as well as his ability to spot cutters in the halfcourt. While his offensive role and conservative style of play were factors in his assist percentage (6.8%) ranking in just the 12th percentile amongst all players per dunksandthrees, I don’t believe that the numbers do justice to his ability as a passer.
On the glass, Risacher’s individual rebounding numbers weren’t anything to write home about – 1.1 offensive boards and 2.4 defensive boards per game – though it was encouraging to see he wasn’t a liability in this area, with the Hawks as a team ranking in the 70th percentile relative to other five-man lineups in offensive rebounding percentage and in the 53rd percentile in defensive rebounding percentage when he was on the court this season per cleaningtheglass.
Defense
Moving onto the defensive side of the ball, while the ‘one number metrics’ don’t view Risacher too favorably*, I thought his play on the less glamorous end was really impressive for a rookie.
*Risacher ranked in just the 19th percentile amongst guards and wings in BBall Index’s D-LEBRON metric, and in just the 13th percentile relative to all players in dunksandthrees’ D-EPM metric.
Rookies (particularly guards and wings) are typically viewed as liabilities on the defensive end of the floor, yet Risacher didn’t look out of place when defending starting caliber wings and was rarely caught out of position. He allowed just 0.94 points per possession when defending in isolation and did a good job staying out of foul trouble – averaging just 2.9 whistles per 36 minutes, one of the lower foul rates amongst rookies this season*.
*And all the more impressive considering most of his minutes came against opposing team’s starters
Additionally, per cleaningtheglass, Risacher’s block percentage ranked in the 70th percentile amongst all forwards and it wasn’t uncommon to see him elevate for a rejection in both transition and halfcourt settings.
While Atlanta’s defensive rating was slightly worse with him on the court this season, he had a positive impact on the team’s defensive shot profile, with the Hawks allowing fewer threes and more mid-range attempts in his minutes, as you can see in the table below from cleaningtheglass.
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Risacher on this end of the floor. He needs to work on his ball screen navigation, as well as his ability to stay in front of speedier guards, and match up with beefier vibes when he gets switched or crossmatched, but on the whole, there was a lot to like about his play on the defensive end this season.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a strong rookie season for Zaccharie Risacher. 6’9” catch-and-shoot threats that aren’t defensive liabilities are hot commodities in the modern NBA. If he can iron out the inconsistencies on offense and continues to progress on the defensive side of the ball, he’s going to be a starting caliber wing in this league for years to come.
Risacher is an easy player to root for. We’ve seen what he can be at his best. His coaches and teammates rave about his work ethic and team-first mentality. There’s little doubt that he’s going to spend a good chunk of his summer in the gym. He might not have the typical superstar ceiling seen in most no. 1 overall picks, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be an incredibly valuable player on a championship-caliber team.
I can’t wait to see what he has in store for next season and beyond.
All statistics used in this article are from cleaningtheglass, dunksandthrees, pbpstats, nba.com/stats, or bball-index.com.