Isaiah Collier, Zaccharie Risacher Earn Rookie Of The Month Honors

Jazz guard Isaiah Collier and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher have won February’s Rookie of the Month awards for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

It continues a season-long streak of first-time winners — the league has announced eight Rookies of the Month so far this season, four in each conference, and no player has won the award twice. Jaylen Wells, Yves Missi, and Stephon Castle have also been honored in the West, while Jared McCain, Alex Sarr, and Kel’el Ware have won in the East.

The No. 29 overall pick in last year’s draft, Collier was elevated to Utah’s starting lineup in January. In February, he averaged 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and an impressive 9.5 assists in 30.4 minutes per game across 13 outings.

According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, even though it was a short month made even shorter by the All-Star break, Collier’s 123 total assists in February were the most by a rookie in a single month since Pooh Richardson in March 1990.

“I think he’s playing the game with a chip on his shoulder,” Cody Williams said of his fellow Jazz rookie, per Jones. “I think he knows that there weren’t 28 players better than him in the draft, and he came into this season wanting to prove that.”

No player was drafted ahead of Risacher, 2024’s No. 1 overall selection. While the 19-year-old forward had an up-and-down first half, he has been very effective in recent weeks, averaging 12.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a .474/.440/.778 shooting line in 12 games (25.7 MPG) in February.

Those numbers don’t include his 27-point outburst in Memphis on Monday — he made 11-of-13 shots in that game and registered a career-high four steals as Atlanta eked out a two-point win.

February’s other Rookie of the Month nominees were Castle, Wells, and Zach Edey in the Western Conference, and Ware, Matas Buzelis, and Kyshawn George in the East (Twitter link).