Hawks seeing progress with rookie and No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher

Not much has fazed Hawks rookie and draft top pick Zaccharie Risacher 25 games into his NBA career. No matter the game, or the player he has to defend, or the play he looks to make.

The 19-year-old has adjusted in stride and has gone out each night and learned from his mistakes. On top of that, he hasn’t shied away from a tough matchup.

“He’s the No. 1 pick for a reason,” Hawks guard Trae Young said. “You’re not put in that position or blessed to be in that position if you haven’t been through a lot or seen a lot, or even capable of handling that type of stuff. And you can see that he’s just capable of handling a lot of the things that come his way. He’s taken every night serious the way he approaches the game. He’s been locked in, even though some nights the shots are not falling the way he expects or we expect them to, he still finds other ways to impact our team and help us. And that just shows how good of a player he is.”

Risacher has averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game this season.

His background as a professional in Europe has helped the adjustment. But in his 25 games this season, Risacher has matched up against the likes of Jordan Poole, Donovan Mitchell, DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James.

“I was sitting next to him on the plane, and I asked him the other day which player would make him very excited to play against, and, yeah, LeBron and Steph (Curry),” Hawks center Clint Capela said. “He definitely showed that he’s not scared, even though he plays against his favorite players. I really feel like he’s mature whenever I talk to him, or even like whenever he plays.”

For the rookie, it all comes down to bringing his best every night.

“I feel like I’m just focused on trying to win,” Risacher said. “Focused on me and my teammates. It’s really all about us and, yeah, I’m not saying like it’s not great to play against superstars and great players. It’s obviously something special but I feel like it would be more special if I do my best against them and if we keep winning.”

He’s been aggressive in attacking the basket and the Hawks have encouraged him to keep following his instincts to get into the paint. Forty percent of Risacher’s shots this season have come at the rim, especially with him making just 28.6% of his shots from 3.

“I think the word I would use to describe Zacch’s approach mentally, is resilient,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “So, we wanted him to be aggressive, and whatever the results of that are, you can learn from that, get better and modify what you’re doing, but also to be resilient and not stop being aggressive.”

Snyder hesitates to set any type of bar for Risacher so that the Hawks can keep his progress in perspective. But Snyder has seen improvement in Risacher’s ability to finish at the rim.

On Nov. 29 in the Hawks NBA Cup Group Play win over the Cavaliers, Risacher pump-faked both Mitchell and Evan Mobley before setting his feet and going up for a hook shot.

As he’s looked to get more aggressive, opposing defenses have not held back. They’ve defended him physically, especially in the last two to three games. Risacher has taken some tough hits and like many rookies not many of those calls go his way. But he knows that it’s all a part of the game.

“I don’t know the answer, but I just tried to play my game, play hard,” Risacher said. “And, yeah, I’m not scared to get hit and feel like that’s a part of the game. And I’m not worried about why. I just worry about if I can score, make a play with the consequences, and I’m just, yeah, trying to play my game, trying to play hard, trying to score, trying to make the right play.”

The Lyon, France native has given as good as he’s gotten too on the defensive side of the ball. In that same game against the Cavs on Nov. 29, Risacher zipped in from the elbow, got his hand up and blocked Isaac Okoro’s shot at the rim with 9:03 to play in the first quarter.

But Risacher has had plenty of defensive moments that haven’t shown up on the box score too. He moves his feet, rotating to help when needed. He’s leaving fewer players wide open for uncontested 3s and he’s recovering when he notices a man wide open.

His increasing comfort defending on the perimeter has allowed the Hawks more defensive versatility and the team trusts he can handle difficult switches.

“Those are two things (finishing and perimeter defense) that oftentimes when you get into this league and are playing against more size, more athleticism, there’s a transition that has to take place there,” Snyder said. “I think he’s done a great job in both those areas.”

His work ethic and play this season has inspired his teammates, even the veterans.

“First of all, Zacch is a really hardworking guy, and he motivates me now at this age,” Bogdan Bogdanovic said. “I see a little bit of myself through him. He’s way more talented than I was when I was 19 or 20 or whatever. So as long as he’s keep working hard, he’s gonna get there.”