ESPN basketball analyst (and retired Miami Heat legend) Udonis Haslem accidentally referred to Atlanta Hawks small forward Zaccharie Risacher as "Rosh Hashanah" during a Thursday episode of NBA Today.
Haslem was naming his 5 players to watch in the upcoming NBA season, and the first player he named was Hawks guard Trae Young. Haslem is basing his expectations on the roster the Hawks have built around Young which consists of the offseason acquisitions of Luke Kennard and Kristaps Porzingis combined with the young core of Young, Jalen Johnson and Risacher.
Unfortunately, Haslem struggled when it came to pronouncing Risacher's name, so he substituted Rosh Hashanah, which is the holiday for the Jewish New Year. Haslem was extremely apologetic, but the hilarity of the moment was not lost on his co-hosts.
"...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
We have seen sports commentators call people by the wrong name before, but this may be the funniest incident we have seen. Hard not to laugh at this one.
Haslem retired from the NBA in 2023 after playing for the Heat for 20 consecutive seasons, winning three NBA championships. He has only been serving as an NBA analyst on ESPN for about a year, so Haslem is still relatively new at this. Hopefully he will practice Risacher's name so it will come to him more naturally the next time around.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
