Hawks' Zaccharie Risacher joins impressive company after breakout game
On Wednesday evening, the Atlanta Hawks picked up a big win against the New York Knicks at home in a game that saw number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher have his NBA coming out party . The Hawks rookie scored 33 points in the contest, including 22 in the first half, consistently eviscerating a Knicks defense that evidently did not read the scouting report very closely.
In fact, so impressive was Risacher's performance on the evening that he made an early career milestone in the process, becoming just the fourth youngest player in NBA history to score at least 30 points and record zero turnovers in a game at 19 years, 212 days old, per Stathead on X, formerly Twitter.
The three players who were able to accomplish the feat younger than Risacher were LeBron James (19 years, 36 days), Kobe Bryant (19 years, 116 days, and LaMelo Ball (19 years, 167 days).
Not bad company indeed.
A sign of things to come for Risacher?
Coming into the draft, Risacher was viewed as the best possible choice out of a slew of bad options in a draft class that was widely viewed as one of the weakest in NBA history.
Although he showed some flashes in the preseason, Risacher largely struggled over the first couple of weeks of his career, showing a solid feel for the game but unable to cash out on many of his three point attempts.
However, that all changed on Wednesday evening at State Farm Arena, as the French rookie knocked down a three pointer on the opening possession of the game and did not look back from there, including launching a three in transition late in the second quarter after intercepting a pass from Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.
Risacher also helped the Hawks seal the win by tying the game with a push shot from the paint late in the fourth quarter in what would become the most clutch shot of his young career.
The hope is now for Hawks fans that Risacher will be able to use the confidence he gained from this performance against the Knicks and apply it moving forward. His talent level and feel for the game were already undeniable, but if he is able to start knocking down perimeter shots with consistency, Risacher could end up proving the Hawks right by taking him number one.
In any case, Atlanta is next slated to take the floor on Friday on the road vs the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 PM ET.
