Kia Rookie Ladder: Zaccharie Risacher's Rise in Final Stretch of Season

The NBA’s Class of 2024 has shown flashes of potential, but none of the rookies have truly stood out so far.

It’s an unflashy group putting up mostly modest numbers. Of the top dozen in minutes played, only two — Memphis’ Jaylen Wells and the Lakers’ Dalton Knecht — have done so for teams with winning records.

As far as cracking the league leaders in the major categories, we’ve only got three new big men in any Top 10. New Orleans’ Yves Missi ranks fourth among all players in total offensive rebounds (215), while Portland’s Donovan Clingan (1.6 blocks per game) and Washington’s Alex Sarr (1.5) show up among the top shot rejectors.

The competition within their ranks remains heated, though. Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick last June, slipped down a few rungs as the season’s first four months ground on. But he’s back in the Top 3 thanks to consistency and an uptick across the board — most notably in his shooting — since All-Star Weekend.

Here is a look at the Hawks rookie and nine more rung-holders in this week’s edition of the Kia Rookie Ladder:

Weekly recap

Since Post’s debut, his 43.4% 3-point success ranks behind only Kyle Filipowski, Risacher and Jaylen Clark among rotation rookies. He is averaging 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

Storyline to watch

The numbers chase. Any rookies looking to rack up bigger numbers to enhance their All-Rookie or ROY chances could wind up doing a solid for this rookie class overall. As projected, the Class of 2024 has been modest in actual production — only five players are averaging 10 points or more among rookies who have played at least 20 games. Six have averaged six-plus rebounds, and only four are dishing out 3 assists at least initially.

By comparison, 14 rookies averaged double digits as scorers in 2019-20. Seven rookies averaged at least three assists in 2021-22 and 2020-21. And the rookies in 2022-23 also had a half dozen who averaged six rebounds or more.

Latest ranking

(All stats through Tuesday, March 11)

1. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs

Season stats: 13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1
Draft pick: No. 4

Castle had a blip (4 of 12) in his shooting against Dallas Monday, in what had been an impressive March (53.6% while averaging 23.6 ppg till then). He added five rebounds, six assists, two steals and a few kudos that night from Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. “His athleticism [and] understanding how to play the game [stand out],” Kidd told reporters. “He has one of the best mentors in Chris Paul. You can see that he has a rhythm. He is starting to understand it and is playing at a high level.”

2. Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies

Season stats: 11 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 apg
Last Ladder: No. 2
Draft pick: No. 39

Wells has strung together four games scoring in single digits while shooting 6-for-30. And Monday against the Suns, he got leveled by a Nick Richards backcourt pick. But the Grizzlies went 3-1 in the four games. The Washington State two-way guy leads Memphis with 65 appearances and 3-pointers (121 on 36.7%), and ranks second with 1,695 minutes.

3. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks

Season stats: 11.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5
Draft pick: No. 1

OK, so his name doesn’t pack the same clout as Kidd’s, but Philadelphia’s Guerschon Yabusele had similar praise for Risacher that Kidd had for Castle. After the Hawks forward notched 22 points and eight rebounds against the Sixers, Yabusele said: “I wasn’t worried about him, he’s already shown his talent. It evolves from year to year. He’s going to work this summer and he’ll be even better at the start of the next season.”

4. Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies

Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 3
Draft pick: No. 9

The big fella missed Monday’s game against Phoenix with an ankle injury and his status is uncertain for the Grizzlies’ home game Wednesday vs. Utah. Of course, Edey can help a team in several ways, as demonstrated last week in a practice. By the way, 16 of his past 24 rebounds have been on offense.

5. Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat

Season stats: 8.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Last Ladder:

No. 4

The 7-footer wasn’t on the floor late in a couple games as Miami navigated a three-game skid. Coach Erik Spoelstra even addressed it, assuring critics “He’ll definitely get his opportunities moving forward.” Still, 23% of Ware’s minutes have come in the fourth — about right, math-wise — and his per-36 scoring average is 19.9 ppg in that quarter vs. 15 ppg overall.

The Next 5

6. Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz

Season stats: 7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6
Draft pick: No. 29

Following up on Collier’s assists details above, here’s a deep dive into a bunch of his dimes. And as far as what that means for the Jazz, well, this says it as well as we can.

7. Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans

Season stats: 8.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 7
Draft pick: No. 21

Six of Missi’s eight rebounds against the Clippers on Tuesday came on the offensive end, and he got his two blocks on a single possession.

8. Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards

Season stats: 11.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 9
Draft pick: No. 2

For those who like random threshold-type of “records,” we present the Wizards’ slim, skilled big, who doesn’t turn 20 until April 26.

9. Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards

Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8
Draft pick: No. 14

Now this is some age-related achievement that resonates, with Carrington joining some elite company as he hits more notable milestones.

10. Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz

Season stats: 8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 apg
Last Ladder: No. 10
Draft pick: No. 32

His 6-point, 5-rebound performance at Boston Monday slowed his roll in March to that point (20.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 54.4%/46.4% in five previous games).

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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