In Georgia, all eyes are on Atlanta Hawks rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher, the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Risacher is a glue player at this point of his career. After 18 games, the 19-year-old is averaging 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per contest. He’s having difficulty taking the lid off the rim, shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three-point range. However, he’s been able to making winning plays throughout the season, especially at the defensive end.
Hawks Rookie Nikola Djurisic Set To Make Season Debut
Risacher, a Spanish-born Frenchman, isn’t the Hawks’ only member from the 2024 draft class. They also added wing Nikola Djurisic, who signed a contract with their G League affiliate in October (the Hawks retain his draft rights). Djurisic was recently cleared to return to action after undergoing foot surgery in July, according to his agent Misko Raznatovic.
Nikola Djurisic (draft pick 43 by Atlanta Hawks) is fully recovered and will play his the first game in Nba G league today! His team College park skyhawks will face Long island Nets!#BeoBasket
— Misko4Raznatovic (@MiskoRaznatovic) November 26, 2024
Originally drafted by the Miami Heat, Djurisic was sent to the Hawks as part of the three-team trade that led to 2022 No. 16 pick AJ Griffin heading to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets, in turn, sent 2024 No. 44 pick Pelle Larsson to the Miami Heat. There weren’t high expectations for Djurisic though, as he was a mystery to many. Born in Belgium, he spent much of his youth in Serbia, playing for KK Mega Basket in the Adriatic Junior League.
While getting his start with KK Mega in 2019-20, he finally made it out of the Junior League in 2023-24.
Last season, he averaged 14.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while knocking down 44.4 percent of his field goals and 30.5 percent of his threes. Shortly before the draft, he also competed in the 2024 adidas Eurocamp, an event that also featured Kansas commit Darryn Peterson, a highly regarded guard prospect out of Ohio. There, Djurisic averaged 11.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game but converted 48.1 percent of his field goals and 36.4 percent of his threes.
Still, the first taste that American fans had of him came during the annual Summer League exhibitions. He played decently, showing off impressive passing instincts. However, he was frankly unproductive, averaging 4.5 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 rebound in 16.1 minutes per game. He was also inefficient, going just 2-7 from the field and 0-3 from three.
What’s Next?
With the College Park Skyhawks, Djurisic will get to continue his development. His size, feel, and skillset are that of an NBA-caliber rotation player, but it may take time for him to realize his potential. To that point, he’s just 20 years old, and many don’t peak that early in their basketball journey.
What Djurisic, his representation, and the Hawks should find as soon as possible is what type of player he should be at the NBA level. He may need to become a more consistent outside threat, more due to the fact that he’s an average athlete than it being a staple in the league. Nonetheless, his nascent abilities as an on-ball creator at 6-foot-7 and 200-plus pounds are his best skills thus far.
