NBA star rookies have French accents. After the brilliant arrival of Victor Wembanyama last year, his compatriot Zaccharie Risacher, forward, has been chosen this Wednesday as number 1 of the draft of 2024 by the Atlanta Hawks. Next, the Washington Wizards, who have just finished the worst season in their history, have opted for another Frenchman: center Alex Sarr, who came through the Real Madrid youth academy. France makes history. Players from the same country other than the United States had never won the first two places in the same promotion. And until now, only the United States and, once, Canada, had chained two consecutive number 1s. As if that were not enough, fellow Frenchman Tidjane Salaün has been chosen in sixth place by the Charlotte Hornets.
Those who have not entered the first round are LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, nor the Spanish point guard Juan Núñez, from the Real Madrid youth team who played for the German side Ulm Ratiopharm last year. This year, the two rounds of the draft are held on two successive days for the first time, so they will have a second chance this Thursday. Izan Almansa decided to retire and reserve himself for next year’s draft when he saw that his chances of having a prominent position were slim. They had previously decided to wait for Aday Mara and Baba Miller for the same reasons.
Thousands of people gathered this Wednesday at the State Farm Arena, in downtown Atlanta, to witness the Hawks’ election, thousands of miles away, at the Barclays Center in New York. The 19-year-old, 2.08 meter tall French forward was the favorite to be chosen first in a promotion that appears, in principle, less promising than that of previous years.
Risacher is a versatile and complete player, who stands out in defense and also has a good three-point shot, but he has to improve physically to stand out in the NBA. He was born in Málaga, as he is the son of the French basketball player Stéphane Risacher, who played for Club Baloncesto Málaga. He lived three years in Spain and then grew up in Lyon, where he played for Asvel, before being signed by JL Bourg. From the French league, he makes the jump to the NBA, where he joins a team in low hours.
For his part, Alex Sarr will meet in the Wizards with his compatriot Bilal Coulibaly, chosen in the number seven position of the draft from last year. The Washington team is going through its lowest hours after letting its best players leave and it will take time to rebuild a competitive team. Alex Sarr, 2.16 meters tall and 19 years old, is an excellent defender, a rim protector, who finds it more difficult to score. He plays center and power forward and has potential for improvement. His brother Olivier Sarr belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, although he hardly enjoys opportunities in the rotation.
At the age of 14, Alex Sarr joined the Real Madrid youth system, where he played two seasons as a cadet before making his first steps as a professional in the Overtime Elite league in Atlanta. Last season he played with the Perth Wildcats of the NBL, the Australian professional league, where he averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.9 assists in 17 minutes per game.
The number three of draft, Reed Sheppard, just turned 20, plays as a shooting guard and like in the previous two cases, basketball is a family thing. He is the son of former professional player Jeff Sheppard, who played in the NBA and the Italian league. American, 1.85 meters tall, he comes from the University of Kentucky Wildcats, where he averaged 12.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game
There are many unknowns about the performance of this year’s rookies. There is no one who is seen as an undisputed future NBA star and it is difficult to know which one will fit best in the professional league. draft It is a system established to balance the competition in the long term in which the weakest teams have priority, although there is an element of chance to prevent teams from competing to be last. Two consecutive third-place picks from the 2016 and 2017 classes allowed the Celtics to land Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum, who have given the Celtics the title this year.
On the other hand, since the worst in the classification have priority, the greatest talents generally arrive at uncompetitive or rebuilding teams, which frequently affects the first years of their careers as professionals.
The history of the drafts It is full of errors. Michael Jordan (third in his promotion), Larry Bird (6th), Kobe Bryant (13th), Giannis Antetokounmpo (15th), Nikola Jokić (41st), Stephen Curry (7th) and Joel Embiid (3rd) were relegated by players who left much less footprint. On the other hand, others like LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal were number ones that marked their era. Wembanyama has confirmed his status as rookie of the year unanimously. Now it is the turn of his compatriot Risacher, although it may be other players from his promotion who end up triumphing and becoming All Stars.
These have been the first 15 positions of the draft, with the target team. In some cases they have been selected by other clubs, due to previous agreements or because they have been immediately exchanged as part of other transfer operations:
1. Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks)
2. Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards)
3. Reed Sheppard (Houston Rockets)
4. Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs)
5. Ron Holland (Detroit Pistons)
6. Tidjane Salaün (Charlotte Hornets)
7. Donovan Clingan (Portland Trail Blazers)
8. Rob Dillingham (Minnesota Timberwolves)
9. Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies)
10. Cody Williams (Utah Jazz)
11. Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls)
12. Nikola Topic (Oklahoma City Thunder)
13. Devin Carter (Sacramento Kings)
14. Carlton Carrington (Washington Wizards)
15. Kel’el Ware (Miami Heat)
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