One after the Victor Wembanyama phenomenon, it is yet another Frenchman – and a Lyonnais to boot – who is chosen in 1st place in the NBA draft: Zaccharie Risacher. Having passed through the ASVEL training center, revealed to JL Bourg, he was able to catch the eye of American recruiters.
From Bourg-en-Bresse to Atlanta, there is a huge step that the young Zaccharie Risacher managed to take on this Wednesday, June 26, 2024. A feat achieved by the one who, after spending his childhood in clubs in the Lyon region , Tassin-Ecully then Oullins-Sainte-Foy, joined the ASVEL training center at 15 years old.
One of our teams met him in 2021. At the time, when we asked him about his ambitions, the teenager replied mockingly that he wanted to be “Olympic champion, to beat dad“.
Because the young man has someone to take after: his father, basketball player Stéphane Risacher, 123 selections for the French team, silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, French Pro A champion in 1997, Spanish champion in 2006, 22 years of career which took him from Vichy to Chalon-sur-Saône via Olympikos Piraeus and Malaga.
After his first pro season under TJ Parker, Zaccharie – disappointed by his low playing time – was loaned in 2023 to JL Bourg where he intended to heat up the court. There, he literally exploded and became one of the best players in the Eurocup, and … his wish came true: he had the most playing time on his team.
An ideal visibility for this young champion, that the NBA recruiters, the famous scouts, will come to see evolve, in Bourg or elsewhere. The San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks, or the Detroit Pistons have made their habits at Ekinox where the young “Zacch” puts on a show for them.
It must be said that the young man, who is extremely efficient in defense, is also a serial shooter. At 2m07, he averages 10 points per game in the championship and 13 in the Eurocoup, including 56% at 3 points.
An address that he cultivates patiently, he whom his father describes as a hard worker, and who likes to warm up with long shooting sessions, long before the start of a match. A state of mind which inevitably delights US recruiters, for whom “no pain no gain” (no effort, no reward) is THE compass.
Now, everything remains to be done for this young “Lyonno-Bressan from Atlanta”, but everything suggests that he will know how to make the right choices: a father who is an Olympic vice-champion, a Victor Wembanyama as a role model and friends: Alexandre Sarr and Tidjane Salaün respectively 2nd and 6th in this very blue, white and red 2024 draft.
