Zaccharie Risacher’s Move to the Atlanta Hawks' Bench May Signal a Necessary Reset

Much ink has been spilled about the Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher.

That’s an inevitable consequence of being picked first overall. When you’re 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, drafted No. 1 in 2024, and labeled a franchise pillar before your 21st birthday, scrutiny isn’t optional — it’s structural. Risacher, born April 8, 2005 in Malaga, Spain, was handed those expectations the moment the Hawks turned in his card.

When you’re not consistently living up to them, the discourse sharpens.

There is angst in the Hawks fanbase. Is Risacher even an NBA-level starter?

The organization may be wrestling with a version of that question. Ahead of Sunday’s contest against the Brooklyn Nets, Risacher was moved to the second unit in favor of CJ McCollum — the first time since his rookie season that he has come off the bench in a meaningful rotation shift.

What does it mean?

On some level, that’s not an egregious insult.

McCollum is a 12-year veteran who has received All-Star consideration during his career and is still producing. He’s averaging 18.8 points while shooting 38.8% from three-point range. He remains a polished half-court scorer who can stabilize lineups.

If Risacher were clearly better than McCollum right now, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Still, context matters.

Risacher is averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 24.2 minutes per game this season. He’s shooting 44.3% from the field and 35.4% from three — nearly identical to his rookie mark from deep (35.5%) when he averaged 12.6 points and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

The raw production has dipped from 12.6 points as a rookie to 10.3 this year. His free-throw percentage has also slipped to 60.0% after sitting at 71.1% last season. The efficiency profile — 52.7% effective field goal percentage — suggests competency, but not impact.

And the recent trend line hasn’t inspired confidence.

Over his last five games, Risacher has averaged just 5.8 points. Against Brooklyn in his bench debut, he scored seven points in 20 minutes, finishing 3-for-7 from the field with a -9 plus/minus. Two games earlier against Miami, he went 1-for-8. Against Minnesota, he shot 1-for-9.

The flashes are still there — a 10-point effort against Philadelphia on 4-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds in that same contest — but the consistency has not followed.

Which makes the lineup decision more layered.

McCollum is not a wing defender. He’s not a traditional small forward. In theory, Risacher’s size, length, and positional profile should complement Atlanta’s starters more naturally. He shoots right-handed, spaces to the corners, and can operate as a secondary attacker.

So this could reflect diminished trust.

Or it could reflect developmental recalibration.

Here’s the reality about NBA benches: they are not as good as starting units.

Risacher has struggled at times against opposing starters — stronger wings, experienced defenders, more physical help schemes. His handle can get loose. His offensive assertiveness can wane. He has a tendency to fade into games.

Against second units, that margin tightens.

Lowering the competition level gives Atlanta a cleaner developmental runway. It allows experimentation — more ball-handling reps, more on-ball actions, more room to make mistakes without compromising first-unit chemistry.

This isn’t the G League. It’s not a demotion in the traditional sense. But strategically, it functions similarly: controlled exposure, curated matchups, incremental growth.

None of this guarantees a leap.

Risacher, through 120 career games, has averaged 11.7 points on 45.3% shooting. Those are respectable early-career numbers for a 20-year-old wing. They are not franchise-altering metrics.

The idea that he projects as a primary offensive engine feels increasingly unlikely. That evaluation is becoming clearer.

But that doesn’t mean his ceiling is settled.

If Risacher can sharpen his offensive aggression against second units — if he can lift that 10.3 scoring average closer to his rookie 12.6 while stabilizing efficiency and decision-making — he remains a viable long-term starter. His archetype still matters in today’s NBA: size, shooting, positional flexibility.

Sunday’s stat line won’t define the experiment.

The next month might.

And as the season wears on, this adjustment — whether developmental or declarative — will tell us far more about how the Hawks truly view their former No. 1 overall pick.