Matas Buzelis e Zaccharie Risacher are two of the candidates for the first overall call at the upcoming NBA Draft. Neither plays in the NBA and neither is an American: Buzelis is Lithuanian (though born in Chicago) and wears the G-League Ignite jersey, while Risacher is French and plays with Bourg, current semifinalists in the EuroCup. Besides them, Alex Sarr, Rob Dillingham and Nikola Topic could also fit in for the first overall call-up.
Meanwhile, however, Buzelis threw down the gauntlet to his rival. Upon specific question about a potential challenge during pre-Draft workouts, at the microphones of BasketNews, the Ignite player provoked Risacher: “I would like to challenge him in 1vs1. But he doesn’t want to do it, his agent wouldn’t allow it, I already know that. It’s a business decision. My advantage? I’m better in any aspect.”.
According to ESPN, it is currently Risacher who occupies the top spot in projections for the 2024 Draft, with Buzelis dropping as low as sixth. The Lithuanian is scoring 14.3 points averaged with 6.9 rebounds in his first and only season in the G-League. Risacher, on the other hand, who is a year younger, is carving out an important space in the Bourg by scoring 12.6 points on average in the EuroCup.
The fact that both are wings helps in the creation of this duality: it will have to be seen whether the good promise will also translate into high-level performance once they get to the NBA.
Milan, Italy. A graduate in Labor Management and Communication for Organizations from Catholic University, I founded BasketUniverso in 2011. Yes, I root for Orlando Magic and do my best not to hide it.
