With so much uncertainty surrounding the 2024 NBA draft class, ESPN draft expert Jeremy Woo will take a closer look at the prospects vying for the top choice.
Zaccharie Risacher has had a historically profitable season as a youth, joining Bourg from ASVEL for his final season in France. Risacher, the son of six-time French League All-Star Stéphane Risacher, has played an important part for his club in both the Pro A and EuroCup seasons, and his confidence and performance have grown. The 18-year-old has positioned himself to be one of the first players picked in June.
Risacher’s Strengths
In many ways, Risacher is the quintessential NBA wing, with a combination of positional size, on-court smarts, scoring, playmaking, and strong defense. While he isn’t currently off the charts in any of those areas, he has a very solid all-around developmental foundation for a player his age (he turns 19 in April). At the 2023 Hoop Summit, Risacher measured 6-foot-9½ in shoes with a wingspan of 6-10½, indicating good size but average length for a small forward, comparable to wings like Shane Battier and Memphis’ Ziaire Williams. Since Hoop Summit, he has made tremendous progress as a player, rebounding from a disappointing showing at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Championships and moving to a new club that has invested in his development and has emerged as one of Europe’s greatest young players.
Risacher’s defensive play has been mostly solid this season, demonstrating versatility in guarding smaller players on the perimeter as well as the ability to switch, rotate, and traverse efficiently despite his stature. That kind of ability and awareness always speak well for adolescent players’ chances of gaining minutes early in their NBA careers, and it helps scouts picture a plausible floor for Risacher in a 3-and-D situation.
On the offensive end, Risacher has been efficient with his touches, shooting 56% on 2s and 47% on 3s (but just 70% from the foul line), which is a significant improvement over his career statistics. His off-dribble shot-making and aggressiveness demonstrate untapped potential, allowing him to use his stature to shoot over opponents when unable to reach the rim. While he is not a high-volume scorer, his patience and overall feel for his role have been noticeable, and there is some comfort in his overall profile if his gains are genuine and sustained.
Risacher’s vulnerabilities.
Risacher’s biggest weakness at this level of his career is that he is neither an advanced shot creator nor a great jump shooter. He plays a little erect off the dribble and lacks a creative handle for attacking defenders in space, making it difficult to see him becoming a top offensive option in the NBA without making a significant leap in shot-making ability. His scoring potential is mainly reliant on becoming a top-tier shooter, and while he’s doing well statistically this season, Risacher is a career 35.9% 3-point shooter in our database across levels.
The idea of utilizing Risacher offensively right now definitely necessitates a structured off-ball role in which he scores off of more calculated touches in the halfcourt, but he may not be the caliber of shooter to deserve it. In an NBA system, Risacher is more likely to play a tertiary scoring role early in his career, stretching the floor with his shooting, attacking the hoop in a straight line, and allowing a lead playmaker to set him up. Risacher’s all-around play has been strong and gives him some confidence in his future, but he must continue to develop as a scorer if he is to achieve the high-end results expected of a top draft pick in the pros. If he is only an average shooter in the long run, he may not be worth the amount of money it appears a team will have to spend to draft him.
NBA scouts are talking about Risacher.
According to reports from throughout the league, Risacher is expected to be a top-five pick in the 2024 NBA draft. The valuable positional prototype he fits, combined with his great current trajectory, has given him some momentum heading into the second half of the season and the pre-draft process. Scouts share some of my concerns about his shot-creation and shooting abilities and how they may limit his potential, but there is also comfort in the capabilities he already possesses at a high level for his age.
Scouts across the NBA have told me that in a stronger draft, Risacher would likely be picked in the mid-to-late lottery rather than the top half. This underscores the value of flexible two-way players with size and feel, regardless of selection position.
My favorite Risacher highlight It’s hard to pick just one Risacher play to highlight, as he is a player who offers more substance than style, but I think the shot-making prowess he flashed in a recent win over Cholet and fellow projected lottery pick Tidjane Salaun offered some reason to rethink how realistic his pathway to offensive excellence might be. The second and third clips showcase Risacher’s improving ability to get his own shot off the dribble from long range, with solid footwork into his gather and a high release. It’s not only fun and creative to watch, but it’s also where the upside lies.
Risacher’s NBA player comparison
In a best-case scenario, you could compare Risacher to Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton and be positive about his potential. His shooting growth will most certainly need to plateau before he can reach that level, but he has the potential to be a top starter-level player in most situations. If Risacher doesn’t provide a ton off the dribble, you could see him flourishing in a role similar to New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, serving as an athletic spacer and cutter who brings value away from the ball and defensively. While not as athletic as Murphy, Risacher should be able to find NBA success with realistic, consistent growth, as long as his body and shooting skills persist.
Projected NBA lottery team that best fits Risacher
Part of the attractiveness here is that Risacher can easily slot in as a connecting perimeter player almost anywhere, given the high demand for the versatility he can provide. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, and Memphis Grizzlies, all of whom need wing help on younger rosters, should seriously consider Risacher early in the draft.
Why Risacher may be No. 1
In a year when clubs may prioritize needs earlier in the draft than usual, there are two perspectives on Risacher’s probable No. 1 pick: From the standpoint of “everyone always needs wings,” consider which teams have holes at his position to justify him as a need choice. Risacher will bring more polish and NBA-ready skill than Colorado’s Cody Williams or G League Ignite’s Ron Holland and Matas Buzeli. Risacher is having a stronger individual season than those prospects; his floor is likely higher, and he is young enough that you can argue for his realistic upside.
And you can argue Risacher from the best player available standpoint: a team may desperately need a point guard (San Antonio), but it’s also entirely possible that a front office will not see any of the guards in this draft class as legitimate franchise building blocks, with Nikola Topic, Isaiah Collier, and others providing different strengths and weaknesses.
You can look at what Risacher has done this season and decide you’d rather go his way and solve a need later on. He may not have the raw potential of a top-pick contender like Alex Sarr, but Risacher may require less outlier-level development to establish himself as a very solid starter in the NBA, which, given the tempered expectations for this draft class as a whole, may be all a team decides to hope for. He lacks the star power that you would expect from a top pick, but value in this selection becomes relative and circumstantial.
Looking at the fairly flat talent curve in this draft class—there isn’t much that differentiates the top prospects from one another—Risacher represents a reasonable blend of safety due to his skill set and upside due to his age, which should be appealing.
Jeremy Woo is an NBA analyst who specializes in prospect evaluation and the draft. He was once a staff writer and draft expert for Sports Illustrated.
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