Former NBA player rips Atlanta Hawks first overall selection Zacharie Risacher

On Wednesday evening, the 2024 NBA Draft takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The draft didn’t have a surefire first pick, so the Atlanta Hawks had to make a tough choice.

They ended up selecting Zaccharie Risacher from outside France.

Via Atlanta Hawks: “With the 1st pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select Zaccharie Risacher!”

Following this choice, former NBA player Frank Mason sent a bold message on X.

Her post received over 3,000 likes and 490,000 impressions in less than two hours.

Mason wrote: “I played against this young man in France last season; he’s not at all the number one pick in the NBA draft lol, but I guess!”

Mason also wrote: “Solid young player but No. 1 pick is absurd.”

Risacher finished last year with averages of 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 55.6% from the field and 56.1% from three-point range in 17 EuroCup games.

The 19-year-old also appeared in 32 LNB Pro A matches with averages of 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range.

Per ESPN: “ATLANTA HAWKS SELECT ZACCHARIE RISACHER WITH THE #1 OVERALL PICK‼️

French players are first overall two years in a row during the NBA draft 🇫🇷”

As for the Hawks, they finished the year tenth in the Eastern Conference with a 36-46 record.

They missed the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2020.