Zaccharie Risacher's Career Night Puts Him In Same Company As LeBron James and Kobe Bryant

Risacher had a career night as the Hawks found a way to upset the Knicks last night at State Farm Arena

Nov 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) shoots against the New York Knicks during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Hawks were underdogs against the New York Knicks last night and were coming off their worst loss of the season, a blowout loss to Boston that was never truly competitive. It was not Trae Young or Jalen Johnson that led them to victory though. It was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Zaccharie Risacher. Risacher has had an interesting start to his career, doing a lot of little things that don't show up in the box score, but struggling to shoot the ball. Last night that changed and it put him in some elite company.

Risacher finished last night's game vs the Knicks with 33 points on 11-18 shooting and 6-10 from three, while also grabbing seven rebounds, getting three steals, and not turning the ball over. It was the best performance by a rookie in the NBA this season and it came against one of the NBA's premier teams. According to Hawks PR, he became the fourth-youngest player in the NBA since 1977-78 to finish a game with 30+ points and 0 turnovers. Who were the others? Only two of the greatest players of all time and one of the game's best young players

LeBron James (19y/36d)
Kobe Bryant (19y/116d)
LaMelo Ball (19y/167d)

Zaccharie Risacher, who played a career-high 37 mins tonight, became the fourth-youngest player in the NBA since 1977-78 to finish a game with 30+ points and 0 turnovers.

LeBron James (19y/36d)
Kobe Bryant (19y/116d)
LaMelo Ball (19y/167d)
ZACCHARIE RISACHER (19y/212d)

— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) November 7, 2024

While there are sure to be ups and downs with Risacher this season, last night's game was a great sign for his development. He shot the ball well, but also played really good defense, as evidenced by his three steals. He had some tough assignments defensively vs the Knicks last night, but he found a way to impact the game.

After his big game, Fanduel has him as the co-leader for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, along with Grizzlies center Zach Edey. Fanduel has both players at +350 odds and then there is a slight drop off to the pair of Wizards rookies Bub Carrington and Alex Sarr at +650. After that, there is a huge gap to Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht at +2000. It is still very, very early, but Risacher had the best performance of any rookie this season and one that will be hard for even him to top.

Risacher was not the only player who played well last night. After getting off to a slow start, Trae Young finished with 23 points and 10 assists. Jalen Johnson flirted with a triple-double, scoring 23 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and handing out seven assists. It was the trio that carried the Hawks across the finish line and got them their biggest win of the year.

They had to withstand a barrage of threes from the Knicks though to be able to get it done. After a tough first quarter, New York had an onslaught of threes that nearly won them the game. The Knicks were 22-47 from three (47&%) and they still lost. Karl-Anthony Towns had a huge night with 34 points and 16 rebounds, but they did not get nearly enough from their star point guard Jalen Brunson, who had 21 points and four assists. It was not a bad game from Brunson, but Dyson Daniels was making life hard on him all game. Outside of Deuce McBride, the Knicks bench did not have anything tonight.

Overall, this was an excellent win for the Hawks in what was a playoff-like atmosphere in November. They hope they can carry that momentum into the upcoming games and start to string some wins together.

Additional Links:

Zaccharie Risacher Surges To The Top In Rookie Of The Year Odds After Career Best Night vs the Knicks

Hawks Star Trae Young Has Message for New York Knicks Fans After Hawks 121-116 Win

RECAP: Zaccharie Risacher has a Career Night As Hawks Defeat The Knicks 121-116