Unlike Victor Wembanyama, the 2024 NBA No.1 pick doesn’t seem to move the needle. When Wemby stepped on US soil, he had the media constantly buzzing over him throughout the 2023 off-season. And went on to sustain it with his rookie season performance. On the other hand, Zaccharie Risacher, another French man with the No.1 pick, had a mellow media coverage followed by a bland Summer League performance. Nevertheless, the Atlanta Hawks forward recently gained momentum with a new title and the latest NFL honor.

Soaring into Week 3 of the brand new NFL season, the Hawks’ #1 pick received a distinctive honor in his first-ever NFL visit. Amid the defending champions Kansas City Chiefs’ dominant win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the home team’s Lorenzo Carter swapped jerseys with Risacher. The Falcons and Hawks came together with a collaborative post on IG and shared the picture of the jersey swap with the caption, “ATL Jersey swap,” with a handshake emoji.

With only a few days left for the Hawks training camp, can Zaccharie Risacher get into the zone? Now that the French man received a rare limelight amid his oddly silent off-season, Risacher can sustain it with his upcoming showcase. Notably, the Bleacher Report made an “easy call” to refer to him as the “X-factor” for the Hawks ahead of the 2024-25 season.

To begin with, Risacher had all the eyes on him ahead of the Summer League. Of course, after a dynamic performance from the 2023 No.1 pick, fans anticipated a similar experience from him. However, that wasn’t the case. The Hawks forward featured in just two games with an underwhelming 11-28 FG in the Summer League and pulled out with a quad contusion. Nevertheless, it’s too early to write off a player while Wembanyama himself had a silent Summer League.

How can Zaccharie Risacher factor into the Hawks’ rise?

After six impressive seasons with the Hawks, averaging 25.5 points and 9.5 assists, Trae Young came into the trade conversations this off-season. Despite Young’s efforts to take the Hawks to better positions, the lack of support kept pulling the star down. Up until last season, Young received support from Dejounte Murray, but he has moved to the New Orleans Pelicans for the upcoming season.

Even though Young has other reinforcements from Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, and De’Andre Hunter, it isn’t enough to carry the team into the postseason. The Bleacher Report which announced him as the ‘X-Factor’ dropped a promising statement, “the 19-year-old is something of a blank slate. He stands 6’9″ and has legitimate tools on both ends, but nobody seems certain he can become a star.” 

Moreover, Risacher could also be the last roll of the dice for the Hawks front office to decide whether to continue their “Trae era”. On the other hand, the report also hinted at a new chapter. Grant Hughes, who wrote the piece, predicted that Risacher could turn into the next face of the franchise if is something more than a player with a supportive role. Anyway, only time will decide the fate of the Hawks.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.