NBA Draft 2024: France's Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr go 1 and 2 to the Hawks and Wizards, following in countryman Victor Wembanyama's giant footsteps

Zaccharie Risacher became the second Frenchman in as many years to be drafted first in the NBA Draft as the Atlanta Hawks picked the 6-foot-9 forward to start Wednesday's proceedings in Brooklyn.

Risacher follows Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 rookie sensation, who went first overall to the San Antonio Spurs at the 2023 NBA Draft.

And Risacher, 19, was not the only Frenchman in Wednesday's draft. Seven-footer Alex Sarr was drafted in second by the Washington Wizards while Tidjane Salaun went sixth overall to the Charlotte Hornets. Later, Pacôme Dadiet went to the Knicks at No. 25. 

'We are trying to represent our country, and I'm so glad to be a part of it,' Risacher told reporters after being picked. 

'There is more players coming in,' he continued. 'I'm really proud of being a part of the success of my country. Trying to understand what Victor, Rudy [Gobert] or other French players really help me to develop myself as a player, first of all, in France, and hopefully now in the NBA.'

Risacher - a forward - wowed in the LNB Pro A - the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France - this past season, averaging 10. 1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game as part of a postseason push for JL Bourg.

He's projected to be a three-and-D wing in the NBA, like Paul George, despite his height, as he's shown flashes of his speed and quick body movement over this past season, earning the EuroCup Rising Star tag in the process. He's also regarded as a very efficient catch-and-shoot player.

In February, Risacher was called up by France for its EuroBasket 2025 qualifying campaign. However, like Sarr, he was snubbed by his country for its Olympics roster this summer.

Risacher's father, Stephane, played basketball professionally and won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with France following an 85-75 loss to the US.

Sarr, meanwhile, played as a center for the Pert Wildcats, of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), over the last year, averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.19 assists in 17 minutes per games.

He recorded a career-high 18 points and five blocks in a 103-91 win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix in January. Before plying his trade in Australia, Sarr was part of the Overtime Elite League in Atlanta. 

He played two seasons at Overtime Elite, the first with Team Overtime and the second with YNG Dreamerz. Sarr earned second-team All-OTE honors in 2022–23.

Atlanta will look to pair Risacher with one of their big men - Clint Capela or Fernando Bruno - to form a promising frontcourt that can take over if Young or guard Dejounte Murray need to sit.

But, all of that depends on whether Young will still be a Hawk ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, as there has been a lot of talk of a potential trade to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

The Wizards will look to integrate Sarr into its starting five with star Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. The teen joins fellow Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly - the 2023 NBA Draft's seventh overall pick - on Washington's roster.

Houston made Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard the No. 3 pick. A one-and-done college player had topped the draft for 13 straight years from 2010-22 before Wembanyama ended that streak.

Stephon Castle of the two-time reigning national champion Huskies made it two straight college freshmen when San Antonio took him at No. 4, the Spurs' first of two picks in the top 10. They also held the No. 8 selection — though they dealt the rights to that pick, Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, to Minnesota.

But the Spurs are holding onto Castle, who had a phone call with Wembanyama and can now throw passes to him to ease his transition from Dan Hurley in his old home to Gregg Popovich in his new one.

'I was just playing for the best coach in college basketball and now flipping to the NBA and going to play for a legendary coach like Coach Pop, it's a blessing,' Castle said.

The Detroit Pistons took Ron Holland of the G League Ignite with the fifth pick before the Hornets took Tidjane Salaun, who played last year for Cholet Basket in France.

'I think the basketball in France is improved that's why we are here in this draft,' Saluan said.

Clingan, who won titles in both seasons in Storrs, finally went to Portland at No. 7.

The draft moved to a two-night format this year, with the first round being held as usual at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the second round to be held Thursday at ESPN's Seaport District studios.

The green room was filled with a number of unfamiliar faces who will head to the NBA from other leagues or other countries. A player who would have been one of the most recognizable was not in the arena: Zach Edey, the two-time AP Player of the Year from Purdue, was taken at No. 9 by Memphis.

Another All-American, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, went lower than predicted, after dropping from an expected lottery pick to the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 17.