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Revisiting his declining minutes with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, Zaccharie Risacher opened up about his complicated sophomore journey. In a recent interview on beIN Sports, relayed by BeBasket on Wednesday, the 21-year-old forward admitted that he felt a bit lost as the 2025–26 Regular Season progressed. “It was a pretty frustrating season because the playing time I got just kept decreasing,” the former top draft pick confessed regarding his dynamic role change.
Despite the obstacles on the court, the son of former player Stephane Risacher insists he stayed mentally locked in throughout the challenging stretch. “I had to concentrate more on myself, make sure I kept moving forward despite the adversity,” he said. This operational resilience is fueled by an unwavering certainty regarding his long-term capability at the highest level. “I belong on an NBA court. There’s no doubt about that. I have confidence in myself,” he stressed.
Head coach Frederic Fauthoux has named a 16-player roster for the senior national team of France heading into the upcoming July window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, as revealed by the French Federation of Basketball on Friday. The star-studded training camp squad is highlighted by the returns of veterans Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, alongside a strong NBA contingent featuring Bilal Coulibaly, Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Guerschon Yabusele, and newcomer Maxime Raynaud. While France will be without Victor Wembanyama following his deep run in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, Fauthoux balanced the roster with EuroLeague standouts Sylvain Francisco, Nadir Hifi, Jaylen Hoard, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntilikina, Elie Okobo, and Matthew Strazel, who were also called up alongside window veterans Adam Mokoka and Amine Noua to ensure continuity.
Malik Brown: Zacch on his role change in the second half of the season: “I kept working, I had to stay ready no matter what. I feel like that was the biggest adjustment for me…”
Kevin Chouinard: Buddy Hield, on Zaccharie Risacher: “You just use this test, turn this into testimony. And when you look back on it in three or four years, you’ll be like, ‘Man, I've been in the fire for a reason.’ “And I think he's going to get all of that, and I tell him that he's going to have a summer where – whether he's in LA or Miami, where he's not going back to Europe – he's staying here and he's going to play a lot of basketball and he's going to work on his game and he's going to get a lot better.”
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Alas, nitpickers can point to some moves in which Atlanta went backward. Most notably, second-year pro Zaccharie Risacher — the top pick in the 2024 draft — stalled out. He lost his starting job after the All-Star break and then his spot in the rotation in April. Getting him back on track to at least play rotation minutes should be a key organizational goal, and a trade can’t be ruled out.
Zaccharie Risacher opened up about his declining minutes and the mental toll of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season’s conclusion following his postseason debut with the Atlanta Hawks. Speaking to BeBasket after his side’s losing effort against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday to open a best-of-seven series in the opening round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, the 21-year-old French small forward admitted that the situation is difficult to manage. “You can’t let yourself get down by things you can’t control. Of course, you can imagine it’s not an easy situation to manage. But here I am, still here, even more motivated, I’d say. I have to try to turn this to my advantage. Obviously, it’s tough, but I’m trying to make it a strength,” Risacher described his approach to the current situation with the team coached by Quin Snyder.
For the top pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, presented by State Farm, staying ready remains a professional requirement. “The goal is to stay prepared no matter what. Since the beginning of the year, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I try not to overthink things, because otherwise I simply won’t be able to cope. It’s part of the job to be professional and able to meet demands at any time, in any situation, and to do the best you can,” he explained.
The first pick in the 2024 NBA draft spent his 21st birthday glued to the Atlanta bench in the Hawks’ 122-116 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday, the first “DNP-coach’s decision” — or healthy scratch — of his career. Risacher started the first two-thirds of the season but was removed from the starting group after a moribund 128-97 home loss to Miami dropped Atlanta to 27-31, with CJ McCollum taking his place. Since then, the Hawks have gone 18-4 and risen from the fringes of the playoff chase to the fifth position in the East. (Risacher did make one more start, in a game that All-Star forward Jalen Johnson missed).
Hawks PR: Zaccharie Risacher recorded his 100th career theft with his first steal in tonight’s game. At 20 years, 336 days, Risacher is the fourth-youngest Hawk to 100 career steals, trailing only Josh Smith (20-096), John Drew (20-155) and Marvin Williams (20-302).
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Brad Rowland: Updated Hawks injury report for tonight against the Wizards: Jalen Johnson (left hip flexor) is OUT. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (left foot sprain) is OUT. Zaccharie Risacher (right hip contusion) is AVAILABLE.
Brad Rowland: Jalen Johnson (left hip flexor irritation) is OUT tonight. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Zaccharie Risacher remain questionable.
Lauren L. Williams: For tomorrow’s Hawks game vs, Wizards injury report: QUESTIONABLE - Jalen Johnson (left hip flexor irritation) - Nickeil Alexander-Walker (left foot sprain) - Zaccharie Risacher (right hip contusion)
Lauren L. Williams: Per league source the Hawks are going to move CJ McCollum to the starting lineup. It means Zaccharie Risacher will come off the bench. Per Cleaning the Glass the Hawks have a +18.7 point differential with lineup of McCollum, Daniels, Alexander-Walker, Johnson and Okongwu.
