By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
1st pick in the last NBA Draft, Zaccharie Risacher officially arrived in the United States last June. Since then, he has learned to live in this completely new environment and has spoken about this process, which inevitably requires adaptation.
The different franchises may do everything they can to facilitate this stage, but it remains one of the most delicate for a rookie. The discovery of the NBA and its specificities is not an easy task for its newcomers, including the most anticipated. Thus, despite its status as 1st Draft choice, Zaccharie Risacher must also acclimatize expressly to the daily life he now leads.
It is clear that he achieves this relatively well, given his performance on the field with the Hawks. He is indeed one of the most prominent rookies at the start of the season and delivered another solid performance this Sunday, on the Portland floor (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists). This, just a few hours after being able to speak about his new life in the United States.
Zaccharie Risacher honest about the complications of life in the NBA
Subject of a recent interview for NBA ExtraRisacher was notably called upon to speak about his first official steps across the Atlantic, whether on or off the floor:
Zaccharie Risacher : My start to my NBA career is going well! I really feel like I’m learning every day.
It’s a new adventure and I think there’s nothing better to learn than the sequence and intensity of the matches. (…) I am also getting used to this new lifestyle which is very different from what I had known in Bourg in the past.
Indeed, the frantic pace of the big league now forces the young French winger to make concessions on a private level:
Zaccharie Risacher : At the beginning, the thing we hear the most about as rookies is the schedule. And having experienced it a little in recent months, I feel like I’ve experienced a lot! In one week, you visit four new cities, you play four matches, you do ten video sessions, you travel, you do training in different gyms… Everything comes together super quickly.
You have to find a rhythm and adapt. You really need to take advantage of your recovery times and carefully calibrate your outings. Me, I’m with my girlfriend here and I know that we can’t go to dinner every night or go out all the time. (…) It’s difficult to manage your life outside, but I think it’s still important to keep this part of your private life and do things outside of basketball.
Like any rookie, Zaccharie Risacher discovers the washer that the NBA can represent and its most dense and rhythmic schedule. There is no doubt that the time spent in it will help him to get used to it fully.
