Zaccharie Risacher doesn’t look like a typical Most Improved Player candidate on paper, but that’s exactly why the case is easy to miss.
There’s always been a belief that the NBA’s MIP trophy should belong to the player who comes out of nowhere. But the league hasn’t exactly followed that script lately.
Top-10 picks have won the award in five of the past seven seasons, and that opens the door for a former high-end prospect to make a real jump. Dallas may have that kind of player in Risacher, the former No. 1 pick who has already slipped into the background far too quickly.
Risacher entered the league as the Atlanta Hawks’ first-overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind the San Antonio Spurs’ Stephon Castle. His rookie season gave Atlanta reason to believe it had found a long-term piece. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 three-pointers per game.
Then came the slide.
As a sophomore, Risacher opened the year as a starter and was averaging 12.4 points per game in November. But injuries and uneven play changed the picture.
He lost his starting job, his minutes shrank as the season wore on, and by April he was down to 15.2 minutes per game. He appeared in only three of the Hawks’ six postseason games.
Atlanta’s roster changes didn’t help his standing. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who won Most Improved Player, emerged.
Jalen Johnson earned his first All-NBA appearance. The trade for Jonathan Kuminga pushed Risacher even further down the pecking order, and the Hawks moved on from the 21-year-old just two years after taking him at No.
Dallas saw enough to make a bet.
The Mavericks brought in Risacher for a minimal price, sending Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta and a 2027 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a classic low-risk swing, but there’s a real argument that the upside is bigger than it looks.
Risacher’s draft pedigree still matters. He was the first pick in a 2024 class that wasn’t loaded, and he would probably have gone somewhere in the five-to-10 range in several other drafts.
Atlanta also landed the top selection after moving from 10th to first, then dropped him into a roster already filled with veterans. In other words, the setup wasn’t exactly built for a smooth rise.
Dallas gives him a different stage.
The Mavericks are rebuilding, which should mean a longer leash and a more honest look at what Risacher can become. The wing rotation is crowded, so there’s no promise he’ll start. Even so, the opportunity is there, and Dallas clearly wanted him enough to make the deal.
That’s what makes the MIP angle so interesting. Risacher doesn’t need to become a star overnight.
If he lands somewhere like 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and two three-pointers per game, that’s the kind of leap that gets attention. A 20-point season would push him even deeper into the conversation, though that still feels like a stretch for now.
For a player who has already gone from No. 1 pick to afterthought, the path back to relevance is right in front of him. In Dallas, a big enough jump could change the story fast.
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