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The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly planning to choose between a pair of Frenchmen at the 2024 NBA draft.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported center Alex Sarr and forward Zaccharie Risacher with the top overall pick in next month’s draft.
Sarr is the overwhelming favorite to be taken with the top pick and is currently listed at -280 at FanDuel Sportsbook. The Washington Wizards are likely to take the leftover player between Sarr and Risacher, which would mark the first time in NBA history that two foreign-born players were taken with the first picks of the draft.
This would also be the second time in NBA history that international players from the same country have been taken at No. 1 in consecutive drafts. Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, both from Canada, were taken first overall in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
B/R’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Hawks taking Risacher, who has impressed with his performance in the LNB Pro A playoffs. Wasserman has Risacher all the way back at No. 9 on his overall big board. Sarr is projected as the No. 2 pick and No. 4 overall player.
There has been seemingly no consensus among evaluators regarding anything in this draft. Most consider it among the weakest in recent memory, but draft boards are highly variant across teams and experts, with seemingly no one quite sure how things will shake out.
Sarr and Risacher are on the safer end of potential picks, both equipped with enough skills to be long-term starters—even if they’re not superstars. In a draft that’s lacking in elite top-end talent, that should be good enough to get one of them the nod.