Zacharie Perrin, the late bloom of the French phenom
Amine had the opportunity to sit down and talk with French NBA prospect and FIBA EuroBasket U20 MVP, Zacharie Perrin.
He might be the player with the most developed “winning skills” in next year’s draft, but he has been under the radar lately because of a season filled with ups and downs due to his usage. In this article, I’ll dig into Zacharie Perrin’s game and give him a platform for him to express himself prior to the off-season.
If you’re plugged into the NBA prospect circle, Zacharie Perrin’s name isn’t new. But for the unawares, Perrin is a versatile 6-foot-9 forward, able to play the center position too, who has been thriving in all FIBA events he took part in.
To introduce him, I made a small flyer summarizing what he has been up to during his first season with SLUC Nancy in the French top division, Betclic Elite.
Despite already producing at a high rate at a high level, I would say that Perrin is still more of a project. His versatility hasn’t shown a ton because of how he is used, but being drafted in a good environment could enable many facets of his game.
First off, Perrin is a great physical prospect. He lost tons of weight recently, now much thinner, and we can feel it when watching him play. He’s more explosive and can easily get up off one or both feet, and he’s more at ease when operating on defense.
He has the size to play the center position, but the skill and quickness of a power forward, which will be great for his NBA potential.
“I am way more solid on impacts, and I can repeat long runs on the court way better during games since I lost 4 percent body fat. It truly helps because back then I was a bit chubby, even if I was still fit. So, yeah, I feel much better in my movements, like laterally and all, because I managed to substitute tons of fat with muscle. Although I would say that we’re still midway through the process because I still need to lose some body fat, but I feel great concerning my physical evolution.”
This athleticism shows off a ton when his team is attacking in transition. He’s capable of outrunning anybody on the court, finishing at the rim often.
It’s something very interesting in his game, as of right now. The volume is small, but in games with NBA pace and great passers capable of launching outlets in a quarter of a second, it can be a deadly weapon. Those are “easy” points and it clearly fits the “winning skills” trait.
Perrin’s athleticism is also shown on the defensive end. He has all the tools to be an exceptional shot-blocker in the future, even if the stats aren’t showing that right now. Furthermore, he’s a great rebounder, securing valuable possessions for his team. Defensive rebounding is the first attacking phase, and he contributes a ton there.
The only criticism I will make is his struggles at boxing out. He gets flashy rebounds because he’s still able to outjump everybody, but to gain consistency against great athletes in the league, I would like him to develop his boxing-out skill.
To finish on his physical profile, I need to talk about how good of a dunker he is. For some players, it might be solely aesthetics but it’s also a great indicator to distinguish a good athlete from a functional athlete.
The big question mark about his game currently is the jump shot. Finding the answer is not as easy as we would think, and to be honest, it might be the hardest shooting evaluation I have ever made.
Perrin went from scoring solely in the paint to scoring in post-up situations or as a roller in the pick-and-roll, knocking down shots and driving the rim on-ball.
As we can see, the numbers are not great, although there is a notable difference between summer 23-24 and 24-25. Indeed during last summer’s Eurobasket U20, in which he won MVP of the tournament, he started to take his open shots and was considered a real threat by his opponents.
“Outside shooting is something that I’ve worked on a lot this season … To rectify it I’ve been working with SLUC Nancy’s coaching staff, so as of right now, adaptation time has been a bit hard because I am not making my shots and confidence is not at its best, but I know that a three-month summer is in front of me … I have been working on it for seven-to-eight months every single day so it will pay off at some point.”
Moving forward, he has the tools to become a solid shooter. He has a sweet touch and great space perception. He’s still in the development process, and the shooting form is new and still needs some work.
I have been in contact with him for some time now and I can assure you that he has been putting the work in and I am confident it will come along at some point.
The most exciting part of Perrin’s game is his scoring ability, and more precisely, how versatile he is in the exercise. As I said earlier he recently started to play in the perimeter and increased his arsenal by tenfold.
First, he’s able to drive to the rim and operate on-ball. He has been showing tons of things despite the small volume. He’s truly crafty when attacking downhill, experimenting with ball protection while possessing great balance and an ability to finish in any position mixed with a wide variety of finishes at the rim.
Then he’s able to generate points and high-quality shots when operating off-ball. Indeed, it’s the sector that is easiest for him. I will focus on two play types he’s often used in: as a roller in the pick-and-roll and cutting to the rim.
Given how good of an athlete Perrin is, it’s no surprise that he has been thriving as a roller. He has a great feel for the game so he knows when to pull back or even slip the screen. He drops his shoulders well when attacking drop bigs and he’s extremely interesting in the short roll in which he’s able to find his teammates at a high rate.
Finally, I want to come back to Perrin’s rim scoring. He reads and feels the game extremely well, so naturally he’s a great play finisher and his coaching understood it as he’s used as such most of the time.
He’s a good lob threat who can get any ball in the air, has great off-ball movement, identifies empty spots and often is there to finish anything near the dunker spot. That’s a really useful skill to have and is a blessing for any coach.
Before concluding, I wanted to add that Zacharie is an exceptional human being, always willing to put the work in and fits in any locker room extremely easily. His performances are also based on the environment he’s in, and we can see that with how good he has been in France's youth national teams, especially in his relationship with French guard Alexandre Bouzidi.
“My friendship with (Bouzidi) is great, we instantly got along when we were with the French National Team, and it all started there because we got on well together outside the court, in year one — we were roommates by the way — then it was natural. Since we had an alchemy on the court it was kind of the same in everyday life, and that’s how he became one of my closest friends today and he’s kind of my right-hand man.”
Perrin’s ability to build chemistry with his teammates makes life easy, so I truly hope that once in the league he’ll end up in a great environment with great veterans. When writing this I can not end this article without mentioning the young Wizards who received love and advice from great veterans since the jump like Jordan Poole, Jonas Valanciunas, or more recently, Marcus Smart.
Those players, including Perrin’s former FIBA teammate, Alex Sarr, have continued to improve throughout their young careers, and, in the right environment, the late bloom of Perrin should only continue to bloom just like his contemporaries.