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Atlanta Hawks officially announce 2024 Summer League roster

Atlanta Hawks officially announce 2024 Summer League roster

The Atlanta Hawks will kick off Summer League action next Friday night against the Washington Wizards and the Hawks have now officially set their Summer League roster. Headlining the roster for Atlanta is 2024 first-round pick Zaccharie Risacher.

Other players on the Hawks roster include Miles Norris, 2023 first-round pick Kobe Bufkin, 2024 second-round pick Nikola Durisic, Jordan Bowden, Jarkel Joiner, Emmitt Matthews, 2024 second-round pick Mouhamed Gueye, Dylan Windler, Keaton Wallace, Moses Wood, Nick Ongenda and Rob Baker.

There will be plenty of eyes on Risacher this summer, but he’s not the only one. Bufkin, Gueye and Durisic are all vying for roster spots and the chance to make an impact on the Hawks this season as backups and they’ll be players to watch closely. There’s always a chance for an upset and someone impresses enough to challenge for a roster spot.

Hawks assistant coach Ronald Nored will be the head coach of the Atlanta Summer League. This is Nored’s third time leading a Summer League team, having served as head coach in 2022 with the Indiana Pacers and in 2019 with the Charlotte Hornets. Nored will be joined by Steve Klei, Reggis Onwukamuche, Jacob Porter, Ekpe Udoh and Conner Varney as assistant coaches on this year’s team.

The Hawks open next Friday against Washington, but they also have games with the Spurs, Lakers and Bulls. Each team will play at least five games, including four from July 12-19. After each team’s first four games, the top four teams will advance to the playoffs, starting with a semifinal doubleheader on Sunday, July 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. The two winners of the semifinal games will meet in the championship game on Monday, July 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The four playoff teams will be determined based on winning percentage in each team’s first four games, with tiebreaker criteria available here . The 26 teams that do not qualify for the four-team playoffs will play a fifth game on Saturday, July 20 or Sunday, July 21.

When Hawks general manager Landry Fields met with the media after the first round of the draft was over, he pointed to Risacher’s versatility on defense and his shooting ability as big factors in the Hawks liking him as a prospect:

“Well, you start with what you see is he’s 6’2” and he’s got the ability to play both sides of the ball, he’s got the ability to defend, he’s a versatile defender, a very good shooter and a high IQ player. You know, the level of development he’s had so far is fantastic, he’s only 19, he’s going to be 19 all next year and I’ve always said all the qualities that are important to us in the past, about those types of players and the ones that we want in the building ultimately and he’s got a lot of them.”

Risacher is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound wing who fills a major need in Atlanta. He’s a versatile two-way forward who has performed well in his league’s playoffs since the lottery. He’s a plug-and-play forward who would fit the Hawks as a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. But first, he needs to get off to a good start this summer, and that starts next Friday.