Atlanta Hawks Rumors
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Lauren L. Williams: Hawks Summer League coach Ronald Nored said the plan for Zacch Risacher is to play all Summer League. “Again, we’re about development and so the best way to develop his play, so I like what he’s done so far, and we’ve got the Lakers tomorrow, so we’ll see how he does tomorrow.”
What was it like to go head-to-head with Zaccharie Risacher [the Hawks’ No. 1 pick]? Sarr: “It was really nice. I knew him from three years ago. It’s always nice when I’m able to play against him. It was a great game. We played for the same team and same national team. We were competing on the same team, so we were trying to win a medal with France. It was always nice getting together in the summer.”
Do you think you’re the best player in this draft? Matas Buzelis: Yeah. Better than Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr? Matas Buzelis: Yeah.
Atlanta Hawks rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher has taken a lot of inspiration from French basketball players. Tony Parker was a four-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP in 2007. Rudy Gobert is a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Victor Wembanyama preceded Risacher as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 2023. For Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, however, his top basketball role model has always been Olympic silver medalist Stéphane Risacher, who is also his proud father. “That was the first player I ever watched,” Risacher said. “When I started to grow and I got my first iPad and iPhone, I would go to watch my father’s highlights on YouTube.” “Those words means a lot. Basketball has been so present in our lives since the very beginning,” Stéphane Risacher told Andscape.
Stéphane Risacher played for France on various levels 10 times. The global highlight of his basketball career took place during the 2000 Sydney Games. He also was on the floor for perhaps the greatest dunk of all time. Stéphane Risacher played for France when they won a 2000 Olympic silver medal after losing to a USA team that included Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett and other NBA stars in the gold medal game. Risacher also played against USA when Carter stunningly jumped over 7-foot-2 Frenchman Frederic Weis for a remarkable storybook jam. That often replayed dunk came after a wild behind-the-back pass from French forward Yann Bonato to Risacher was stolen. “I had a chance to have a dunk on the other end, but the pass was stolen,” Risacher said with a smile.
Stéphane Risacher said he never had dreams of playing in the NBA, although there was one opportunity with the Toronto Raptors. In 2001, he said, he participated in Toronto Raptors veterans camp. He said Carter, then a Raptors star forward, remembered him and approached him warmly after one of the workouts. However, he wasn’t signed by the Raptors or any other NBA team. “What I remember is that I felt very good about it. Everything went very well, I thought,” Stéphane Risacher said. “But it’s not that I have any regrets because at the very beginning as a kid, the NBA was not even in my mind. I didn’t think this possibility could exist for me.”
Duane Rankin: Pero Antic on the Phoenix Suns #NBA2KSummerLeague bench, but he’s not on Suns staff as a coach. Played for Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks. Has worked with Macedonia national team. Call it a tryout as Budenholzer said Suns still working on coaching staff. #Suns pic.twitter.com/MRLofRjb9n
