“That was the first player I ever watched. When I started to grow and I got my first iPad and iPhone, I would go to watch my father’s highlights on YouTube,” Zaccharie Risacher said. His father might not be a global icon like LeBron James or Steph Curry. But Stephane Risacher is a legend in his own right. And more importantly, he is his son’s hero. Has always been. And will continue to be.

Joining Trae Young in the From The Point podcast, the young Risacher was stumbling across words to describe what it was like to be born into a basketball family. But without the pressure accompanying it. “My father play professional overseas for 20 years so when I was born, basketball was already there. So, I was in the gym, at his practices, at his games at a really young age,” he said.

If we are going to put a number to the “really young age,” it would be 5 months. Yup! According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, his parents, Stephane and Sandrine, recount their firstborn being intrigued by the game as young as that. “I was able to take Zaccharie to the matinee games on Sunday and he would sit on my lap. He would sit there quietly watching the game, moving his head back and forth just like he was watching a tennis match,” Mama Risacher recalled.

Before we go into detail about Zaccharie’s basketball roots, it’s only right we learn a little more about the man responsible for instilling that love.

All about the 6x French League All-Star Dad of Zaccharie Risacher

Those who tuned into the 2000 Sydney Olympics might have noticed a light-footed 6’8 forward in the French team. Part of the standout France squad that won silver against a USA team decked with the likes of Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, and more, Stephane Risacher, had made a name for himself as a pro basketball player in Europe.

As opposed to many basketball players who dreamed of playing in the NBA, Risacher Sr. wasn’t too invested in it. But there was one instance where there was a sliver of chance, but nothing really came out of it. In 2001, the French League champion had attended the Raptors veteran camp. However, in the end, Toronto or any other NBA team didn’t take him on board.

And yet, it did not demoralize him. “It’s not that I have any regrets, because at the very beginning as a kid, the NBA was not even in my mind. I didn’t think this possibility could exist for me,” he stated. But it certainly turned out to be a genuine possibility for Zaccharie Risacher.

And where did that start? In a small gym, his team used to play right behind the family’s apartment in Paris. “Once Zacc was 1½, 2 years old. … he was coming in the gym with me every day. So, from as far as we remember, there been a basketball in his life.” 

When Zaccharie was born, his father was playing for Baloncesto Málaga in Spain, with whom he won the Spanish Cup in 2005 and the ACB League championship next year. And while the curiosity and interest was there, he was a little too young to really understand things. And by 2010, the 6’9 forward and the French Hall of Famer retired from the professional scene.

But what a young Zacc did see and hear was enough for him to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Zaccharie Risacher’s confidence stems from his father’s constant presence

By now, there is no doubt about the fact that Zaccharie Risacher was born to be a basketball player. Now, we can’t be sure if he can imitate the kind of success Wembanyama achieved in his rookie season. Not that he doesn’t have the skill. But the one thing we can say for sure is the 19-year-old does not lack confidence. And that’s all thanks to his father’s steady guidance and constant presence.

“You want to be like Daddy when you are young. And that’s what pushing me while I was growing,” Zaccharie Risacher admitted to Trae Young. “Obviously he was already there. … It was dope having someone who knows the game, who knows like the world of basketball because it’s special. [And so] I already knew I’d be a pro before I was pro.”

And as a pro, there was just one advice Zacc’s father had for him – enjoy and be proud of yourself. Considering the young Frenchman practically modeled his game after his father, there was also a tendency to over-analyze things. In fact, Risacher Sr. recounted one particular instance when his son was 9. “He’s coming back from practice at 9 years old and he said he’s pissed off because he missed a left-hand layup.” 

And what did a young Zaccharie do? For the next one and a half hours straight, he keeps “making jab steps and left-hand layups.” 

Well, there is no doubt that this kind of work ethic, grit, and determination will take him to great heights. And that’s something Atlanta fans agree wholeheartedly, too.