Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Zaccharie Risacher

Southeast Notes: Risacher, Hornets, Lee, Isaac, Adebayo

March 22nd, 2025 at 11:42am CST by Tristan Tucker

Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher is making his case for Rookie of the Year honors with his recent play, Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Head coach Quin Snyder recognizes that the 19-year-old’s growth hasn’t and will not always be linear, but he has been an advocate for his rising player all year.

“I think it’s a strong case,” Snyder said. “You have to look beyond some of the quote, unquote numbers. Although, if you look at the progression, even in a statistical case, over the course of the season, it’s pretty impressive. That’s a credit to who he is, his talent and as a human being and his character, and he just embraces everything, whether that’s when he’s making shots or he’s not making shots. Defensively, he’s really a complete player, and he’s got a high ceiling.”

While Spurs guard Stephon Castle has emerged as the favorite for Rookie of the Year honors and Wizards big Alex Sarr might be ahead of Risacher too, the French wing’s improvement is notable and impressive. During his last 22 appearances, the No. 1 overall pick is averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 45.5% from three (4.9 attempts). In his first 38 games, he averaged 10.5 PPG and shot 28.3% from three (4.2 attempts).

“You can’t be serious if you don’t have him in the Rookie of the Year conversation,” teammate Georges Niang said. “I think his progression throughout the year, especially on a team that is winning and trying to make the playoffs, I think it’s been impressive what he’s been able to do. And for sure, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if he won Rookie of the Year because he truly deserves it.”

Risacher said it would mean a lot to him to win the award, but he’s firmly focused on improving and keeping Atlanta focused on the postseason.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets are on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs, which would extend the NBA’s longest active streak without a postseason appearance to nine years. However, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, the Hornets are happy to play spoiler even if it doesn’t culminate in a playoff showing. “It just gives us confidence,” Miles Bridges said. “It gives us confidence knowing we can play how we want to when we are semi-healthy. Just imagine when we are fully healthy.“
  • Hornets head coach Charles Lee has taken a long-term outlook when discussing Charlotte’s ability to be competitive. He isn’t losing his cool during post-game news conferences, Boone writes in another story. “Human nature is to try to find the negatives, try to find the wrongs,” Lee said. “And that’s the easy thing to do. It’s the easy way to find some comfort. And the place that I like to live and the place that we like to live is finding the positives and what are the growth areas we have seen.”
  • Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is seeing limited minutes after renegotiating his contract last offseason to increase his 2024/25 salary and tack on four extra years. Isaac didn’t play in the second half of Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede writes. “As we’re looking at these games as playoff-type ‘win the next game,’ you’ve got to look at matchups,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. Isaac is averaging 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in 15.5 minutes per game this season, though his 62 appearances are his most since 2018/19.
  • The Heat‘s current 10-game losing streak is one of the longest in franchise history. Regardless, Bam Adebayo appears to not be losing hope for the rest of the season with the team still in position to make the play-in tournament. “You can’t let go of the rope now,” Adebayo said, per HoopsHype (Twitter link). “To me, being a quitter is in your character — and I’m not a quitter.“
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Risacher, Young, Carter, Hornets

March 19th, 2025 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rookie of the Year race is still wide open, but Hawks guard Trae Young believes teammate Zaccharie Risacher should be the favorite, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The top pick in last year’s draft has been given more responsibility than some of his competitors, becoming an instant starter for a team that appears headed to the play-in tournament.

“He should be, in my eyes, and I’m not saying it because I’m biased, but I think (he) should be Rookie of the Year,” Young said. “What he’s been doing this year, he’s been thrown into the fire as a starter. You put him up against some of the guys in the running. I think his numbers speak for himself, too. So he’s just not even focused on that. And that’s the best part about it. And we’re kind of, we’re kind of making it easy for him to just focus on the game, focus himself and having fun and having games like tonight, and just letting it loose and letting it fly.”

Risacher, who won’t turn 20 until next month, has posted solid numbers in his first season, averaging 11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game with .443/.350/.719 shooting stats. His teammates have tried to ease the transition as he adjusts to the NBA after playing in France, and Risacher said it has helped.

“I feel like every game I feel more comfortable. I’m able to learn like every possession,” Risacher said. “Honestly, it’s a new environment. I got great teammates, too. They helped me a lot on the court and off the court, and I’m just in great condition to learn, with, like, the coaches, my teammates, the organization. We’re playing a lot of games, so it’s like it’s great for young player like me to be able to compete every night with those guys.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • A technical foul called against Young late in the third quarter of the Hawks‘ win over Charlotte on Tuesday has been rescinded, the league announced (via Twitter).
  • Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. is having a down year statistically, but he proved at Cleveland on Sunday that he can still affect the outcome of a game, observes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Carter had 16 points and 14 rebounds as Orlando snapped the Cavaliers’ 16-game winning streak. “Wendell was super aggressive in the game being really physical,” Franz Wagner said. “When he’s like that, he’s one of the best bigs in the league. He was a game-changer on both sides of the floor for us in that game. He’s one of those guys when his spirit is like that, it carries over to a lot of the other guys as well. When I talked about aggressiveness, I don’t just mean making shots or anything like that. It’s just the demeanor that they played with, finding different ways, especially on defense, to change the game.”
  • LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges both sat out the Hornets‘ game Tuesday night, and that could happen more often as the season winds down, suggests Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: Eaglestaff, Kyrie, Australia, MVP Race, Rookies, More

March 12th, 2025 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

North Dakota junior Treysen Eaglestaff will enter the NCAA’s transfer portal while testing the NBA draft waters, agent George S. Langberg tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Eaglestaff wasn’t included in Givony’s most recent top-100 list of prospects for the 2025 draft, but he had a strong season as a scorer for the Fighting Hawks in 2024/25, averaging 18.9 points per game on 416/.359/.794 shooting in 33 outings.

Eaglestaff’s scoring average was buoyed by some massive performances, including a 51-point outburst in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament against South Dakota State last Friday. The 6’6″ shooting guard also put up 40 points in a loss to Alabama on December 18. He knocked down a career-high eight three-pointers in both of those games.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • There may be too many hurdles to clear to make it actually happen, but after Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving expressed interest in playing for the Australian national team at the 2028 Olympics, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is fully on board with the idea, per Grant Afseth of RG.org. “Oh yeah, I love it. I love it,” Daniels said. “I know he wants to do it. We want him to come play for us. There’s a lot of stuff that has to get cleared for him to come play, but we welcome him with open arms. He’s a brother. He’s an Australian.” Irving has Australian citizenship, but he previously played for Team USA in international competitions, so both USA Basketball and FIBA would need to sign off for him to play for the Boomers.
  • In a pair of stories for The Athletic, one panel of NBA writers debates which player is most deserving of this season’s MVP award, while another panel takes a closer look at an uninspiring race for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference. While a recent three-game winning streak for the Bulls has put them in prime position for a play-in spot, the general consensus on the MVP race is that it remains too close to call between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
  • Elsewhere at the Athletic, draft expert Sam Vecenie has updated his rookie rankings for the 2024/25 class, placing a pair of Grizzlies – Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey – in his top three, sandwiching Spurs guard Stephon Castle at No. 2. First overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Hawks and Heat big man Kel’el Ware round out Vecenie’s top five.
  • It has been five years since the NBA shut down its 2019/20 season due to COVID-19. In an extensive oral history, Baxter Holmes and Tim MacMahon of ESPN revisit that period, sharing a number of interesting behind-the-scenes details on how the league came to its decision and how teams and players reacted.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Isaiah Collier, Zaccharie Risacher Earn Rookie Of The Month Honors

March 4th, 2025 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

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).

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge Participants

February 7th, 2025 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the participants for the All-Star Saturday festivities in San Francisco on February 15, revealing today (via Twitter) which players will compete in the three-point contest and the skills challenge. Here are the details:

Three-Point Contest:

Among this year’s participants, Powell (43.1%), Garland (42.9%), and Johnson (41.7%) have been the most accurate three-point shooters so far this season, while Herro (39.3% on 9.7 attempts per game) has been the most prolific.

Lillard won the event in both 2023 and 2024 and will be looking to become the first player since Craig Hodges in 1992 to claim the three-point title for a third consecutive year. Larry Bird was also a three-time winner, having achieved the feat in the first three years the NBA held the event (1986-88).

Hield is the only other player in this year’s field to have won the contest before, having done so in 2020. The Warriors wing will be the home team’s representative next Saturday.

Skills Challenge:

It appears the NBA will be tweaking the format of the skills challenge again in 2025, with the event set to feature four teams of two players apiece instead of three players per team.

Mobley was part of the Cavs team that won the event in 2022, along with Jarrett Allen and Garland. He’ll be teaming up with Mitchell this time around.

The NBA also officially confirmed the participants of the dunk contest earlier this week (Twitter link). Those four players, who had been previously reported, are Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis, Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Bucks guard Andre Jackson, and Magic two-way guard Mac McClung.

Like Lillard in the three-point contest, McClung will be looking to three-peat in his event next Saturday night.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces Player Pool For 2025 Rising Stars Event

January 28th, 2025 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially revealed the 10 rookies, 11 sophomores, and seven G League players who have been selected to take part in the 2025 Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco next month.

The following players made the cut, as voted on by NBA assistant coaches (rookies and sophomores) and selected by the league office (G Leaguers):

Rookies

Sophomores

G League Players

* Note: Players marked with asterisks are on standard or two-way contracts with NBA teams.

As usual, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, while the other 21 players will be drafted to three squads on February 4.

The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.

All three contests will take place on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night. The winning team will compete on Sunday in a similar four-team tournament, with the three other rosters made up of NBA All-Stars.

A handful of injury replacements will be necessary, with McCain, Lively, and Brandon Miller among the players who won’t be available to suit up. Additionally, since players selected as All-Stars won’t play in the Rising Stars event, Wembanyama will almost certainly need to be replaced.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Okogie, Butler, Hawks, Bitadze

January 27th, 2025 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Since Phoenix acquired Nick Richards from Charlotte earlier this month, most of the focus has been on how the big man is helping the Suns. But the deal has also had a positive effect on the Hornets, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, who says veteran swingman Josh Okogie has been just what the team needs.

Okogie set new personal season highs with 16 points and 10 rebounds on Friday vs. Portland. He also has 11 steals in his first four games as a Hornet and has an eye-popping +28.0 net rating in his 83 minutes on the court. His impact has extended beyond his statistical output — the 26-year-old has earned praise from head coach Charles Lee for his vocal leadership.

“Love the impact that he’s given our team,” Lee said. “No. 1, he just has a great feel for the league, the game, what the game asks of you, the competitiveness. He’s already added a vocal element to our team, which I think we can definitely use. When you have a young team, and as much as I talk, they get tired of hearing me probably. So, it’s nice when their teammates speak up and have things to say.”

It’s possible the Hornets will look to flip Okogie, who is on a pseudo-expiring contract (his $7.75MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed), to a new team at next week’s deadline in order to expand their return from trading Richards. But Okogie has fit in nicely and sounds enthusiastic about the idea of finishing the season in Charlotte.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “It’s a good group with a lot of energy, plays free, plays loose and just likes to have fun. It’s kind of refreshing to go out there and just play as hard and that be what the coaches and the organization (are) trying to implement in the players.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Within his latest trade rumor round-up at Substack, Marc Stein of The Stein Line lists the Hornets and Wizards as a couple more of the teams known to be interested in facilitating a trade involving Heat forward Jimmy Butler, alongside Toronto and Detroit, among others. While Phoenix has been the team most consistently identified as a suitor for Butler, rival teams are still wondering if the Bucks might get involved in the bidding, Stein adds.
  • Rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher, who has missed the Hawks‘ past six games due to a left adductor strain, has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s contest in Minnesota, the team announced (via Twitter). Big man Larry Nance Jr. is also listed as questionable to suit up after returning to action on Saturday from a 12-game absence for right hand surgery. While Nance has returned to the court and Risacher appears to be on the verge of joining him, Atlanta will be without Trae Young, who has been ruled out for Monday’s contest due to right hamstring tightness (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks). De’Andre Hunter is listed as questionable too as he continues to deal with the illness that forced him to miss Saturday’s game.
  • Magic center Goga Bitadze has been out since January 12 but appears on the verge of clearing the NBA’s concussion protocol. He said he feels “good to go” for Monday’s game in Miami, as Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel relays (Twitter links). “Obviously, you know, it’s going to be probably be a little dusty. Is that how you say it? Or rusty?” Bitadze said. “… Well, it’s going to be dusty and rusty. We’re going to see. First game back. (I’m) really excited.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Zaccharie Risacher Out At Least One More Week

January 21st, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zaccharie Risacher, the top pick in last June’s draft, is progressing in his rehabilitation from a left adductor strain and will be reevaluated in approximately one week, according to a team press release (Twitter link).

It’s relatively good news for the Hawks, as it doesn’t appear Risacher’s injury is a long-term issue. The rookie forward has already missed the last three games due to the injury, which he suffered against Phoenix last Tuesday.

Risacher is averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in his rookie campaign. He hasn’t shot well, connecting on 40.3 percent of his field goal attempts and 28.1 percent beyond the arc. He has started in all but two of his 39 appearances.

Risacher had a 33-point outing against the Knicks on Nov. 6 but hasn’t reached the 20-point mark in any other contest.

Vit Krejci has been inserted into the lineup in his place.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Sixers, Risacher, Mitchell

January 19th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Could the defending champions be lacking in confidence? The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn believes so. The Celtics have become an unreliable team capable of crumbling in crucial moments of games, according to Washburn. They are losing games that would have won last season, though they still have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The injury-riddled Sixers have lost five straight and they can’t form a coherent rotation until they get more key players back in action, coach Nick Nurse told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “We gotta just get a little healthier around a lot of positions right now to get to where we can get a little decent clarity,” he said. Joel Embiid, Paul George, Guerschon Yabusele, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and KJ Martin all missed Saturday’s loss to Indiana.
  • The Hawks offered a clarification regarding Zaccharie Risacher‘s injury. Initially listed as left adductor irritation, it’s now called a strain, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The Hawks are expected to provide an update on the 2024 top pick prior to Wednesday’s game. Risacher was injured last Tuesday.
  • Donovan Mitchell bounced back in a big way from his eight-point outing against Oklahoma City, pouring in 36 points in a victory over Minnesota on Saturday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com notes. That was the highest scoring output by the Cavaliers guard since a 37-point performance against Chicago in mid-November.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Injury Notes: Nance, Risacher, Kyrie, KAT, Nurkic, Beal, Suggs

January 17th, 2025 at 6:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward/center Larry Nance Jr. is making progress in his rehabilitation process following right hand surgery, according to the Hawks (Twitter link), who announced that Nance will be reevaluated in one week and an update on his status will be shared at that time.

The Hawks will be down another forward in the short term, as Zaccharie Risacher, who missed Wednesday’s game vs. Chicago due to left adductor irritation, has been ruled out for two additional contests, per the club.

Risacher will be inactive for Saturday’s visit to Boston and Monday’s to New York before being reevaluated when the Hawks return home from their road trip ahead of next Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit.

Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

  • Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving will be back in action on Friday vs. Oklahoma City after sitting out the second end of a back-to-back set on Wednesday following his return from a back injury. Head coach Jason Kidd said he expects Irving to play “in the 33 (minute) range,” per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link).
  • Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who is dealing with a bone chip in the thumb, isn’t facing his old team on Friday, having been ruled out of New York’s game vs. Minnesota just over a half-hour before tip-off, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. Reporting this week indicated that Towns plans to play through his thumb injury, so it’s possible he’ll be back in action on Monday vs. Atlanta.
  • Suns center Jusuf Nurkic won’t play on Saturday in Detroit, having been ruled out for a fourth straight game due to an illness, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). Prior to the illness, Nurkic was removed from Phoenix’s starting lineup and was a DNP-CD in two games last week. Suns guard Bradley Beal, who sat out on Thursday due to a left ankle sprain, is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s contest.
  • Sidelined since January 3 due to a lower back strain, Magic guard Jalen Suggs said he’s “really itching to get back out on the court,” writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. An exact return timeline remains unclear, but Suggs has made good progress since being on “bed rest for a couple days” after first sustaining the injury. “Hopefully I’ll be out here soon,” he said on Friday.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts