the French Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr in the first two places

The Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher, 19 years old and 2.06 m, was selected Wednesday evening by Atlanta in first position in the NBA Draft. His compatriot Alexandre Sarr, second to be chosen, will join the Washington team. A third Frenchman, Tidjane Salaün, selected in sixth position by Charlotte, completed this unprecedented evening for French basketball.

Published on: 06/27/2024 – 03:44

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The French Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr were selected in first and second position in the NBA Draft on Wednesday June 26, respectively by Atlanta and Washington, an unprecedented double in the history of French basketball.

The latter did even better than during the previous vintage, which saw another French basketball player, Victor Wembanyama, first on the podium. France thus becomes the third country, after the United States and Canada, to have two nationals chosen N.1 in two consecutive years.

A third Frenchman, Tidjane Salaün, completed this unprecedented evening for French basketball. In sixth position, much higher than expected for him, Charlotte set her sights on the former Cholet winger, who is still only 18 years old.

19 years old and 2.06 m

A 19-year-old, 2.06 m winger, Zaccharie Risacher joins an already competitive team, which came close to the playoffs last season, a rarity in a system designed to allow the most mediocre sporting franchises to choose the best newcomers.

It is the conclusion of a successful season for the ASVEL player who had taken the gamble on a loan to Bourg-en-Bresse. In Ain, the youngest Frenchman to have played in the Euroleague (16 years and 10 months) benefited from significant playing time (23 minutes on average) and took on a new dimension.

He notably progressed in outside shooting and showed that he did not shy away from contact, despite a slender physique, facing seasoned players, older than him. He completed this campaign by raising the tone in the playoffs, with an average of 14 points and a peak of 28 points.

Sarr avec Coulibaly

In Atlanta, which had not chosen in first position since 1975, he will join an already very extensive external sector. The Hawks have, in fact, the diabolical shooter Trae Young, the do-it-all guard Dejounte Murray, both of whom have already been selected for the All-Star Game, as well as the promising young winger Jalen Johnson (22 years old).

Zaccharie Risacher cites his father, Stéphane Risacher, a former international silver medalist at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, as his first influence. The two share a natural elegance and extraordinary fluidity of movement.

Although he has already been a two-time world medalist in youth categories, Zaccharie Risacher was nevertheless not included in the extended selection for the Paris Games. He will therefore be able to devote himself fully to his integration into the NBA.

This is also the case for Alexandre Sarr (2.16 m and also 19), who will head to Washington. This team, chronically weak in defense, will need its size, scope and mobility to improve its standing.

Unlike Risacher, who was entirely trained in France, Sarr has multiplied destinations, from the Real Madrid youth teams to the Australian NBL league, via the American Overtime Elite youth training system.

The interior, also a world medalist among young people alongside Zaccharie Risacher, will find in the capital of the United States another Frenchman, Bilal Coulibaly, author of a very promising first season with the Wizards.

With AFP