Most former No. 1 overall picks in the NBA turn into household names, for good or bad reasons. But based on Udonis Haslem’s attempt at pronouncing the name of Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher on Thursday, it seems as if the 2024 top pick still has a ways to go to make his name memorable.
Risacher showed some flashes of great play throughout his rookie season last year, eclipsing 30 points on three separate occasions in 75 games. But he was largely not much more than a role player, averaging 12.6 points on 24.6 minutes per game on the year.
Discussing the key players on the Atlanta Hawks roster ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season on Thursday’s edition of NBA Today, Haslem brought up Risacher as a building block for the future. The only problem is that Haslem had some trouble pronouncing Risacher’s name, accidentally calling him “Rosh Hashanah,” better known as the Jewish New Year.
“Now, you have everything you need,” said Haslem of the Hawks. “You go out and you get (Luke) Kennard, who is 44 percent from three. You make the trade for (Kristaps) Porzingis. You’ve got your young core in Jalen Johnson, Rosh Hashanah, however you say his name. Excuse me, I’m sorry, Risacher. Zaccharie Risacher.”
“…you got your young core in Jalen Johnson and… Rosh Hashanah, however you say his name. Excuse me, I’m sorry, Risacher. Zaccharie Risacher…” – Udonis Haslem 😂 pic.twitter.com/5XKFZYq06N
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 14, 2025
The second attempt from Haslem to get Risacher’s last name wasn’t all that close either, as it is pronounced “Ree-Zah-Shay,” instead of “Ree-Shah-Shee.”
In Haslem’s defense, it didn’t seem like an intentional mistake by any means. He apologized for butchering the pronunciation of Risacher’s last name, acknowledging that it was giving him fits.
“Listen, I messed up his name. I am sorry,” added Haslem. “Listen, don’t get mad at me, Perk. I took a page out of your book.”
Maybe if Risacher takes a leap in his second NBA season, he’ll get a nickname that will be far easier for NBA analysts to say.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.