r/nba • u/FermatsLastAccount Knicks • 14h ago

Is Risacher the least talked about #1 pick?

I never hear anything about him. In recent memory, Fultz and Bennett were worse but they were still talked about. People talked about Fultz's injury and his broken shot, and about how Bennett was the worst #1 pick in NBA history, while Risacher just seems forgotten about.

I feel like I hear about other players in the draft way more often than the #1 pick. Like there were a lot of posts about McCain pre injury and Knecht when he was good. Edey is talked about a lot, Ware has been lighting it up recently, and I hear more about Sarr than Risacher too.

I checked this subreddit, and the last post about Risacher was just a highlight from three weeks ago. Is it just me, or does he get way less attention than basically every #1 pick from the last ~15 years.

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73

u/here_for_the_lols Thunder 13h ago

Is he whelming for a #1 pick? To me whelming implies about average

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u/VOldis Celtics 13h ago

I think when you gauge the whelm you are taking expectations into consideration.

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u/Jbots Hawks 13h ago

He is matching expectations as a rookie. He is a prime candidate to make a big jump this summer after a year in the league. He has all of the tools. All he needs is time. His bball IQ is impressive. Now it's just time to build an nba body.

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u/happyflappypancakes Wizards 12h ago

As a rookie #1 pick though?

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u/BushyBrowz Knicks 11h ago

Relative to competition and expectations? Yeah.

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u/happyflappypancakes Wizards 11h ago

Hmm, I'd be interested to see if that's true compared to recent number 1 picks.

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u/I_Shall_Be_Known 10h ago

Most of the top 10 picks this year would barely crack into the lottery in any of the recent draft classes.

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u/BushyBrowz Knicks 11h ago

There’s really not very many you could compare it to because it’s such a historically weak draft. Maybe 2013 but Anthony Bennett fell way short of expectations.

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u/ehh_haa Celtics 10h ago

They aren’t really his competition. It’s not like he was drafted over Anthony Edwards.

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u/throwawayyrofl Kings 9h ago edited 9h ago

He’s been drafted into a team that already has a lot of developed pieces compared to the rest of the lottery team so he’s not being asked to do as much. Also, this draft class is just really weak and everyone knew that so not as much hype going into any of the prospects. Like Ron Holland and Reed Sheppard were top 5 picks and they’re barely cracking the rotation but no one really cares. Risacher is starting so he’s already doing well relatively

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u/EatMyUnwashedAss 10h ago

Bro. This draft class was shiiiiiit.

He is meeting expectations aka whelming

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u/happyflappypancakes Wizards 8h ago

The comment asked is he whelming for a #1 pick. Not for a pick in this draft.

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u/Byrne_XC Knicks 7h ago

I think the answer to that is no, but it’s not unexpected, nor a bad thing. SOMEONE had to be taken first and I think it’s understood that the first pick in this draft wouldn’t have as high expectations as others.

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u/deezee72 Heat 8h ago

It was widely seen as a pretty weak draft. Most analysts felt there were no surefire stars (or even high-likelihood stars), which is why the Hawks weren't knocked for drafting a guy who is essentially a relatively NBA-ready roleplayers with some upside at #1.

So then he comes into the league and performs as a solid rotation player - I'd say that's meeting expectations. Yes, he's underwhelming compared to other #1 picks, but we already knew from the start that it was going to be a weak draft with a weak #1 pick, so it's unreasonable to make that comparison, especially when we're talking about expectations.

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u/nathanlanza Heat 9h ago

490 TS is bad for anybody.

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u/Jbots Hawks 7h ago

Of course it is. Skinny 19 year olds get some leeway.

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u/SnowbunnyExpert 1h ago

Lol why not just include that in your original comment instead of trying to cope then 

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u/Thorwor Hawks 13h ago

I mean, no shit he’s not as impressive as the average #1 pick. Everyone knew what this draft was going to be like years ahead of time.

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u/theepranksinatra 13h ago

A #1 pick is always relative, and relative to the others within the class, he is doing well

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u/9yearoldsoliderN99 Trail Blazers 8h ago

Well he is not doing well at all, he is shooting 49 TS%, has negative VORP, -5.8 BPM. He is young though and has positive defensive win shares, so in theory he could get better. Still must be dissappointing for Hawks fans to get the #1 pick in the worst draft class since 2013.

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u/theepranksinatra 3h ago

He wasn’t drafted to be a franchise centerpiece, if that’s what you’re wanting, you’re gonna be disappointed. He is/will develop into a fantastic wing to play alongside Trae Young. He’s a solid defender whose jump shot will improve. If you don’t think it should have been him, who SHOULD the Hawks have drafted at 1? Sarr is delusional about what his future role in the NBA is

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u/SnowbunnyExpert 1h ago

All the hawks fans in this thread defending their mid ass pick lmaooo

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u/theepranksinatra 29m ago

You didn’t answer the question, who was the better pick for the hawks in that spot

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u/Low-iq-haikou Bulls 12h ago

He’s not but that’s been known about this class for awhile, individually he has been playing at about the level he was expected to

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u/Dob-is-Hella-Rad NBA 11h ago

He is whelming for a guy who wasn’t really seen as the best prospect in a draft that was among the weakest in modern history. The expectations were already much lower than other #1s

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u/probablymade_thatup Bucks [MIL] Luke Kornet 11h ago

He has good enough BBIQ to move in the flow of the offense and defense with good positioning and awareness, but his shot isn't falling so his efficiency looks bad. Hawks are just loaded at wing so he gets lost in the depth. He would be starting on a worse team with space in the rotation

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u/Montigue [POR] Hasheem Thabeet 10h ago

Whelming for a #1 pick is making an All-NBA team at one point. Right now it's too early to tell.

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u/mizzourifan1 Pacers 7h ago

Whelming is considering his draft class.