The Atlanta Hawks selected wing Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, but the Frenchman has already come to a realization regarding the difficulty of making the transition to the NBA.

According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, Risacher gave an honest assessment of his situation during training camp, saying: “Back in France I was super athletic, and now I’m just a regular dude.”

The 19-year-old was a highly decorated player in Europe before making the leap to the NBA, earning the EuroCup Rising Star award and LNB Élite Best Young Player award in 2024.

Risacher’s countryman, Alex Sarr, was viewed as the likely No. 1 pick throughout much of the pre-draft process, but Risacher surpassed him late in the game, and Sarr ended up going second overall to the Washington Wizards.

It is fair to say that Risacher was not as heralded as many other recent No. 1 overall picks with the most obvious example being fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, who went first overall to the San Antonio Spurs in 2023.

Like Wembanyama, Risacher did not have the benefit of playing college basketball in the United States, but Wemby was still a well-known prospect, which was not necessarily the case for Risacher among more casual fans.

Thanks in large part to his 7’4″ height, Wembanyama instantly established himself as an NBA superstar last season, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award and finishing second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.

It doesn’t appear as though things are going to come as easily for Risacher, who is now four games into his NBA career.

Risacher has started two of the four games and is averaging just 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 block in 22.5 minutes per contest, while shooting only 30.3 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Given his age and lack of experience playing against grown men, it isn’t shocking that Risacher is going through some growing pains during his rookie season.

Risacher is likely used to getting by primarily on talent, but since essentially every player in the NBA is an elite talent, he will need to become a more complete player in order to succeed.