NBA Mock Draft: OKC Thunder Select French League Star in Top 10, Former 5-star Later in Round One
On Monday, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman released a very early 2024 NBA Mock Draft.
With college basketball underway, there are plenty of intriguing prospects across the NCAA for Thunder fans to keep an eye on, especially with how many picks the team has at their disposal.
In Wasserman's mock draft, however, he slotted 18-year-old French wing prospect Zaccharie Risacher to Oklahoma City at No. 6 overall, a pick that Sam Presti and company received in the Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul trade from 2019.
Risacher is a 6-foot-8 forward and is the son of former French professional basketball player and Olympic medalist Stéphane Risacher.
Risacher formerly played for ASVEL, the same French club that produced players like Tony Parker and Theo Maledon, but is now on loan to JL Bourg.
The talented wing prospect's best attribute right now is his defensive upside, as he is able guard ball handlers on the perimeter at 6-foot-8 and 205 pounds. Despite his size and youth, Risacher is very quick and mobile.
On offense, Risacher has shown potential to be a solid shooter, but still needs to work on his consistency. At such a young age, however, there is plenty of reason for NBA scouts to be excited by what the 18-year-old has put on tape.
Additionally, Risacher is a good ball handler and has great touch when finishing around the rim.
With his defensive ability and perimeter shooting upside, Risacher could be the perfect prospect to round out what is already an impressive young group in the Modern Frontier.
With their own pick, Wasserman had Presti and the Thunder selecting Indiana big man Kel'el Ware at No. 21.
Ware, a former 5-star recruit, had a lackluster freshman year at Oregon before joining the Hoosiers this offseason. In his lone season with the Ducks, Ware averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
The No. 6 overall recruit in the 2022 class, Ware is a 7-foot center hailing from Little Rock, AR. In his first regular season game with at Indiana, the high profile big-man tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
After an impressive opening night from the sophomore, it seems as though Ware has found his rhythm again. If the former 5-star prospect continues to rebound well, play good defense and rack up assists, it would not be surprising to see the Thunder target Ware as a backup center option for Chet Holmgren.
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