Hawks' Trae Young makes Rookie of the Year case for Zaccharie Risacher after 38-point game
CAREER NIGHT FOR ZACCHARIE RISACHER 🚨
💪 38 PTS (career-high)
💪 4 REB
💪 2 STL
💪 6 3PM pic.twitter.com/4sIArQCVyx — NBA (@NBA) April 11, 2025
Zaccharie Risacher set a new career high in scoring on Thursday, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a key victory in the race to secure the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Risacher produced 38 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in a 133-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets on the road. He went 15-of-20 from the field, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range, and was a team-high plus-28 on the court in 34 minutes.
The No. 1 pick finished with the most points in a game by a rookie this season, topping the 37 points scored by Los Angeles Lakers forward Dalton Knecht on Nov. 19. He had 23 points alone in the first half, his fourth 20-point half of the season.
He earned high praise from Trae Young afterward.
I was hoping he got 40 tonight. The way he was playing was so nice, so effortless. It was great to see. We need him to keep it going. That is the Rookie of the Year right there. ... Zacch is very, very aggressive. He is very smart. There are a lot of guys who are tall, athletic and skilled, but there are not a lot that have all three combined with smartness. ... He is so skilled. He has got the brightest future of any rookie that I've seen this year.
The win kept the Hawks one game ahead of the Chicago Bulls in eighth place and the right to face the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament on Tuesday in Central Florida. The seed is coveted since it would give the team that claims it two chances to earn a playoff berth.
Risacher is averaging 12.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 35.5% shooting from 3-point range in 73 games with the Hawks. He is second among all rookies in total scoring (924) and is the only first-year player with four 30-point games this season.
The reigning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month has connected on at least five 3-pointers in all four of his 30-point outings, tied for the third-most occurrences by a first-year player in history. Only Allen Iverson (7) and Young (5) have more such performances.
Risacher is making a late push for Rookie of the Year, though he will likely come up short to San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle. But the Frenchman is ascending at the right time for the Hawks and impressing the organization seemingly on a nightly basis.
"The consistency of his competitiveness (impresses me the most)," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said of Risacher. "I think for someone that is embracing competing in a league against night in and night out -- to me -- the best athletes in the world and his ability to take that with an even keel and still compete at a high level regardless of how much success he has in any given moment (is what) mentally, I think, has allowed him to continue to improve throughout the course of the season."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Golden State Warriors jersey history - No. 20 - Jim Walsh (1957-58)
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history. Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the second of 29 players who wore the No. 20 jersey for the Warriors. That player would be Golden State forward alum Jim Walsh. After ending his college career at Stanford, Walsh was picked up with the 21st overall selection of the 1952 NBA Draft by the (defunct) Baltimore Bullets. The San Francisco, California native played his sole season in the NBA with the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors instead, however. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Walsh wore only jersey No. 20 and put up 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Warriors jersey history - No. 20 - Jim Walsh (1957-58)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Joel Embiid's health status continues to raise concerns for the 76ers
Joel Embiid's health status continues to raise concerns for the 76ers originally appeared on The Sporting News Uncertainty has been the word that has been lingering within the Philadelphia 76ers organization. After an unsuccessful 2024-25 season that saw the team finish with a 24-58 record, head coach Nick Nurse will turn to the new season in hopes that things will turn around. With stars Tyrese Maxey and Paul George aiming for healthier seasons, questions still surround Joel Embiid as he looks to stay on the court more consistently for the 76ers. However, things aren't looking very appealing. Embiid was shut down towards the end of last season after playing in just 19 regular-season games for Philadelphia. He underwent knee surgery in April to address the constant pain and swelling in his left knee. With the NBA season just a couple a couple of months away, insiders around the league believe that Embiid won't be healthy for the start of the season. "Embiid has struggled getting back on the court this offseason, and there is a growing concern that he will not be ready for the start of training camp." "Although word from Philadelphia surrounding the star center continues to be optimistic, and they expect him to return to MVP form, everyone else around the league does not share the same belief," Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints said in an article on Monday afternoon. It's not just Embiid's upcoming season in question – his career could be nearing its end sooner rather than later. Before the 2024-25 season, Embiid signed a three-year, $192.9 million max extension with the 76ers. Less than a year later, it's starting to look like Philadelphia may be regretting the deal. Embiid has played in a combined 58 regular-season games over the past two seasons. With news that the start of training camp is in jeopardy, the same pattern could continue.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Nets' Egor Demin projected outside top-26 PGs for 2025-26 NBA season
HoopsHype does not rank Nets PG Egor Demin among the projected top-26 PGs for the 2025-26 NBA season. I'm projecting for Demin to start at PG for Brooklyn next season so this could be an indication of some expected struggles for Demin at the next The Brooklyn Nets had one of the more interesting offseasons in the NBA as they selected an NBA-record five players in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. One of the players that Brooklyn drafted, guard Egor Demin, has a good chance of being the starting point guard for the 2025-26 season, but that doesn't seem to inspire confidence in anyone on the outside looking in. In HoopsHype's ranking of the top-26 point guards for the 2025-26 season, they did not have Demin on the list, implying that the outlet doesn't believe that Demin will have a particularly effective season. To be fair, HoopsHype is projecting who the best 26 point guards will be next season and there is the possibility that the outlet doesn't consider Demin to be a point guard. Either way, Demin did not appear on the list, but that doesn't mean that he cannot have a successful rookie season even if he doesn't find a way to make it on the list by the end of the season. Demin, 19, was the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and with D'Angelo Russell leaving in free-agency to join the Dallas Mavericks, the starting point guard spot is up for grabs this offseason. In terms of players who saw minutes at the point guard position last season for the Nets, Demin will be competing with the likes of Keon Johnson and Tyrese Martin for the right to start at that spot. Assuming that shooting guard Cam Thomas re-signs with Brooklyn before the beginning of the season, that essentially pits three players to compete for one spot. Demin is the most likely of the three to start given how much the team invested in him in the Draft along with the fact that the Nets will be trying to develop Demin along with fellow rookies in Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf. With training camp about two months away from starting, there is still plenty of time for Demin to work on his flaws enough to compete with Johnson and Martin and potentially prove the doubters wrong at the same time.
