ATLANTA (AP) — For only the third time in 120 career games, Zaccharie Risacher was absent from the starting lineup on Sunday.
Instead, it was CJ McCollum, a 13-year veteran acquired from Washington, that joined a starting five made up of Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels in Atlanta’s 115-104 win over the Nets.
Hours ahead of the Hawks’ 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff against the Wizards on Tuesday, Risacher said he’s prepared to give it his all, regardless of whose name is announced at the start of the game.
“I’ve always been a team player,” the Hawks’ 2024 first-round pick said. “I’m ready to do whatever it takes to be able to impact the game as much as I can ... I feel like it’s all about the team, so no matter if I start or not, I’m still going to give 100% on the court.”
It’s a move Atlanta’s been trending toward since acquiring McCollum. The Hawks' most common closing lineup, featuring Johnson, Okongwu, Alexander-Walker, Daniels and McCollum, has quickly become the preferred group late in games.
On Sunday, that pattern continued as the Hawks overcame an 11-point deficit with a 24-2 run in the final seven minutes of the game.
“That group of guys that finished the game, by far, their net rating is like 10 points above any other combination,” coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s our best lineup.”
McCollum proved worthy of his spot with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in 32 minutes. Risacher added seven points and a rebound in 20 minutes off the bench.
Snyder noted the upside of having McCollum anchor the second unit, but the lack of meaningful minutes with the starters prompted adjustments after a slew of slow starts.
Even after moving Risacher out of the starting five, the coach insisted his belief in the Frenchman hasn’t wavered.
“It doesn’t reflect, in any way, my personal belief in Zacch,” Snyder said. “Zacch’s about all the right stuff, and so his development is something that’s going to continue to happen whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.”
Snyder said Risacher’s minutes are aligned with others in the 2024 draft class. But pressure mounts as the queue builds up behind the second-year forward on the depth chart after a series of new arrivals.
In a season of extreme turnover for the Hawks, nearly half the roster has joined the team in the past two months. That group includes both McCollum and Corey Kispert from the Wizards and Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors, who has been injured since arriving in Atlanta but is expected to be in the mix soon.
“These quandaries are always there. This is just the latest one. So, we’ll work our way through it,” Snyder said. “There’s a balance there — your belief in guys and giving them confidence, and then also, we’re about winning. We want to win the game, and you have to make some decisions along that line.”
But not all changes are final.
“I don't think," Snyder said, "there's anything set in stone where we make a decision and that's how we're going for the rest of the year.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) goes up to shoot against Atlanta Hawks' Dyson Daniels, center left, and Zaccharie Risacher (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3), left, dribbles the ball against Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore (88), right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)
Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10), left, attempts to pass the ball against Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)
PARIS (AP) — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was already a tennis phenom at age 15.
At 19, she’s a Grand Slam champion.
The eighth-ranked Andreeva ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska by 6-3, 6-2 in the French Open final on Saturday.
Andreeva became the youngest player to win the women’s singles title since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she landed her third straight French Open in 1992.
When Andreeva executed a backhand cross-court winner on her first match point, the Russian dropped on her knees to the clay to celebrate.
“You’re so young and talented. It’s so annoying,” Chwalinska told Andreeva during the awards ceremony.
During the trophy presentation, Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself “for believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it’s tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.
“Only I know how tough it was for me,” Andreeva added. “How nervous I was throughout these two weeks.”
Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title.
Alexander Zverev plays Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.
Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.
Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country’s flag due to the war with Ukraine.
When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.
Andreeva has gone a step further than her coach, Conchita Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.
Pierce was due to present the winner’s trophy to Andreeva.
The final was played under mostly sunny skies but wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both player.
Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game.
Eventually, though, Andreeva found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska’s array of spins and drop shots.
There was a strong Polish presence in the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd.
When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: “Ma-ja, Ma-ja.”
Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of “Davai Mirra!” (“Go Mirra”) in Russian late in the match.
In men’s doubles, top-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos retained their title with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.
AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Russia's Mirra Andreeva poses with the trophy after winning the final women's tennis match against Poland's Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Russia's Mirra Andreeva ewacts after winning the final tennis match against Poland's Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Polish fans cheer during the final tennis match between Poland's Maja Chwalinska and Russia's Mirra Andreeva at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Russia's Mirra Andreeva returns during the final tennis match against Poland's Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Russia's Mirra Andreeva returns during the final tennis match against Poland's Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Poland's Maja Chwalinska reacts during the final tennis match against Russia's Mirra Andreeva at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Russia's Mirra Andreeva reacts during the final tennis match against Poland's Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Russia's Mirra Andreeva returns to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk during the semifinal tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Maja Chwalinska react after winning during the semifinal tennis match against Russia's Diana Shnaider at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
