DALLAS — Zaccharie Risacher did not know he was going first overall until the very end. His workout in Atlanta had gone well, and the feedback was good. On June 26, 2024, with his family there, the Atlanta Hawks took him with the top pick in the NBA Draft, a dream he had carried since he was 3 or 4 years old.
Two years later, the Hawks moved on. Risacher had barely played at the end of last season and spent part of the summer with the French national team to get back into high-intensity five-on-five games. Right after that, on July 19, Atlanta traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.
It was a three-team deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hawks received Luguentz Dort from Oklahoma City and Ryan Nembhard from Dallas. Risacher is making $13.8 million this season, the third year of his rookie-scale contract.
Now the Mavericks have a decision of their own. They have until Oct. 31 to exercise his fourth-year team option, worth roughly $17.4 million for 2027-28.
His numbers fell in his second season. As a rookie, Risacher averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 75 games with 73 starts and made the All-Rookie First Team. Last season, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 67 games with 46 starts. New York eliminated Atlanta in six games in the first round, and Risacher averaged 3.7 points in 7.7 minutes in the series.
Risacher went through his first practice with Dallas on Saturday and called it his first day of school.
Zaccharie Risacher On The Call From Masai Ujiri, Mike Schmitz, And Dusty May
Dallas’ interest predated the trade. Early in the offseason, league sources told Dallas Sports Journal that the Mavericks and the Brooklyn Nets were two teams registering interest in Risacher. In July, Zach Lowe of The Ringer said on his podcast that Dallas had asked about Risacher when Atlanta appeared open to moving him. A third team was needed, Lowe said, because the Mavericks lacked what the Hawks wanted.
The first time Risacher heard his own name in trade rumors, it surprised him. He was still new to the league. He tried to put it to the side, focus on what he could control, and be ready for the next game or practice.
“So I tried not to think about it, and once the season was over, I was on the same habits, keep working, kept focusing on the thing I could control,” Risacher said. “And it happened and I’m glad it did. But if it wasn’t the case, I would still be in that position to be good, because I put in the work and didn’t in my mind think too much.”
What convinced him came after the deal went through. Risacher heard from president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, general manager Mike Schmitz, and coach Dusty May.
“That part I really knew when I got to talk with everybody. Masai, Mike, Coach Dusty, when I got them on the phone after I got traded, that’s when I knew they were super excited about getting me,” Risacher explained. “And it’s been huge for me to be able to see that I’m a part of an organization where they wanted me to be here, and then to succeed too.”
“That plays a big role and that’s a big motivation for me,” Risacher continued. “And I feel like just being in that position, it’s the best thing that could happen to me. And like I said, I’m super blessed to be a part of this team.”
Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh said Friday that Risacher did everything right in Atlanta. The chance to add Dort, a 2025 champion and first-team All-Defense pick, is what drove the deal, Saleh said. Dirk Nowitzki said earlier this month that Risacher’s potential is still there.
Zaccharie Risacher On Playing Fast And Switching Alongside Cooper Flagg
Dallas now has three first overall picks on one roster. Risacher went first in 2024, Cooper Flagg went first in 2025, and Kyrie Irving went first in 2011. Flagg won Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 70 starts.
Flagg is another big wing with size and skill. Risacher likes to play off the ball and expects the two of them to switch across almost every position.
“I feel like we’re going to be a good fit, especially in this team. We’re going to play fast. We want to go. We’re going to play physical, and I feel like that’s going to be a good fit,” Risacher said. “I like to play off-ball too, so I feel like just me being able to get to the right spot, get space, and finish those actions, that’s going to be a big thing.”
“And it’s just playing hard, play hard on defense. Like, we can switch, defending almost every position, every game, whatever,” Risacher continued. “And I feel like it’s going to be a good thing for us.”
Switching is familiar ground for May. He said Saturday that Risacher is much more physical defensively than a player his size typically is. On Monday, May explained how much his teams have leaned on switches.
“Probably 15 out of the last 17 years of my career as a coach, we’ve been a switching team. Each year has looked a little bit different based on our personnel,” May said. “Sometimes you switch one through four, sometimes you switch two through five, sometimes you switch one through [five]. Sometimes you switch one through three. And so it comes down to who are we and who’s the other team.”
“That’s another thing that I’m learning about the NBA. We have to throw some different looks. We can’t go out and just throw our fastball and changeup. We need to have a curveball. We probably need to have a slider,” May added. “And some of that is solved just through the different personnel each guy brings to the team.”
May has also called Risacher one of the faster players in the NBA, with a great nose for rebounding and running the lanes. The two have talked about Risacher pushing in transition, and he has put a special focus on it in practice.
“I feel like that’s going to be one of our focuses. We can tell from now that we want to guard and we want to play fast,” Risacher said. “That’s one of my strengths, too. I feel like that’s going to be a good fit. We talked about it with Coach Dusty. I know he wants me to push in transition and be effective in that part of the game too.”
Versatility is what Risacher wants to bring to Dallas. He and May have also talked about affecting the game in many ways, including off the ball.
“First of all, I’m versatile, so I want to bring a lot of things. I’m talking about defense, rebounding, running transition, playing hard, obviously my shooting too. I feel like that can really help the team,” Risacher said. “And [playing off movement], I feel like we talked about it with Coach Dusty, with the coaching staff. Just being able to affect the game in many ways, play off the ball obviously too. That’s going to be a big thing for us as a team. And overall, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Max Christie said Sunday that Risacher has been shooting the ball well in camp.
The three top picks talk about winning, not about where they were drafted, according to Risacher. Right now, he is focused on adjusting to a new team.
“I just feel like that’s not where our focus is, and we’re trying to win games, have good chemistry with our teammates and everything,” Risacher said. “So yeah, I think, like I said, focusing on the right things will be the main, like, big thing for us.”
Zaccharie Risacher On Trae Young, Kyrie Irving, And Santi Aldama
Hawks guard Trae Young posted publicly about Risacher after the trade. Young had been there for him since his first day in the NBA, Risacher said.
“Shout out to Trae. Shout out to Trae. During my whole NBA career, he’s been there for me since day one. So I really appreciate him for that,” Risacher said. “I know what I can do. I feel like for me especially, I’m in the right position to be good, to be great. And I’m blessed, honestly, to be in that position.”
Before camp, the Mavericks spent time together in Los Angeles at a minicamp that Irving led, with activities that included yoga on the beach. Spending that kind of time together away from the season was new to Risacher.
“It’s about creating those moments, creating good chemistry, building something special, just to make sure we really compete every night during the whole season. I feel like those moments were super important,” Risacher said. “I’m looking forward to play with Kyrie too. He’s an amazing player. I feel like I can learn a lot from him on and off the court too.”
One teammate still brings up the summer. Spain beat France 2-0 in the World Cup semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on July 14 and went on to win the title. Risacher and Spain forward Santi Aldama talked about it the day before media day.
“No bad blood, we’re just messing around. I mean, we’re competitors, right? So it’s just fun to talk about it,” Risacher said. “Overall, French and Spanish sports, we really get along. But yeah, just like as my teammate, I really like him and there’s no bad blood between us.”
Dallas plays the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 in Macao. The Mavericks then host the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 14 and the Hawks on Oct. 16, and both home games tip off at 7 p.m. CT. The option deadline falls 10 days after the regular-season opener at Houston on Oct. 21.
