NBA Draft: Atlanta Hawks select French teen Zaccharie Risacher with first pick – BBC Sport

The Atlanta Hawks selected teenage French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick of the NBA draft.

It is the second year running that a French player has been chosen first.

Last year there was little doubt Victor Wembanyama would be the number one pick, whereas this year Risacher and fellow Frenchman Alexandre Sarr have frequently traded places atop mock drafts over the past month.

Risacher, 19, is 6ft 9in and weighed in at 195 pounds at the draft combine in May, having most recently played in the French top flight for JL Bourg-en-Bresse.

“[It’s] so exciting,” he told ESPN. “There’s a lot of feelings and emotions right now. I don’t know what to say, I’m so blessed.”

The Washington Wizards took Sarr, also 19, with the second overall pick after the centre spent the 2023-24 campaign with the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League.

It marked the third time in NBA draft history that the top two picks had no college experience, although Sarr’s brother Olivier, 25, is a centre with Oklahoma City Thunder.

“He’s shared a lot with me,” Alexandre Sarr told ESPN. “Everything I’ve learned is through him and he gave me all his knowledge, and to this day it’s really special to have someone like him in my corner.”

Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard went to the Houston Rockets with the third pick and UConn’s Stephon Castle landed with the San Antonio Spurs at number four.

Ron Holland of G League Ignite, who will be joining the Detroit Pistons, rounded out the top five, while Tidjane Salaun made it three French players to come off the board among the first six picks as the 18-year-old was taken by the Charlotte Hornets.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has said he wants to play with or against his son before the 39-year-old ends his NBA career.

Bronny James, 19, is expected to be selected in the second round on Thursday. The Lakers selected Dalton Knecht 17th overall and their next pick is late in the second round.

This year’s draft has been split into two days, with the first round having taken place at the Barclays Center in New York while the second is set to be staged at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios, also in New York.