NEW YORK — The Atlanta Hawks took Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, the second straight year a player from France was the first player selected.
Risacher doesn't come with the enormous height or hype of Victor Wembanyama, the towering center who went to San Antonio last year and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
But the Hawks saw him as the best choice in what has been viewed as a draft absent of elite talent.
The 19-year-old forward was the winner of the best young player award in the French League last season and beat out big men Alex Sarr, a fellow Frenchman, and UConn's Donovan Clingan in the race to be the top pick.
When he did, it made NBA draft history. This is the first time that the draft has gone consecutive years without the No. 1 pick being someone who played at an American college.
Sarr went second to the Washington Wizards after playing last year with Perth in Australia's National Basketball League.
The Hawks had only a 3% chance of winning the lottery to earn the No. 1 pick, and there was no obvious choice waiting once they did. Most mock drafts were split between Risacher and Sarr, and Atlanta also worked out Clingan.
Houston made Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard the No. 3 pick. A one-and-done college player had topped the draft for 13 straight years from 2010-22 before Wembanyama ended that streak.
Now it's France's time at the top.
