Rui hachimura

Rui Hachimura will be one of the NBA’s most prominent rookies after becoming the first Japanese-born player selected in the first round — let alone the draft lottery. Here are 10 things to know about the international sensation. * * * Japan’s finest: A native of Japan’s Toyama Prefecture, Hachimura was born on Feb. 8 1998 to parents who are Japanese (mother) and Beninese (father). He said he chose to attend Gonzaga University over Arizona due to similarities between Spokane, Washington and his hometown. Hachimura has freely discussed “They looked at me like I was different. I got used to it. It is what it is because they don’t have but so many black people in Japan … I am really proud about being half-African and half-Japanese. It’s rare. I’m glad to be like this.” A rapid ascention: Though he three-peated as a national champion with Mesei High School of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, Hachimura played only 4.6 minutes as a freshman at Gonzaga. He then earned All-West Coast Conference First Team honors as a sophomore and was a consensus Second Team All-America pick as a junior. Perhaps his rise to No. 9 in the Draft should be less surprising than the mock Drafts indicated. A lack of control: Hachimura’s basketball journey begins in middle school … because The Spokesman-Review in 2018. “That’s why I switched.” For all the World to see: Hachimura averaged a tournament-best 22.6 points at the FIBA U17 World Championships in Dubai in August 2014. Doing so Working off the court: In ...

It wasn't easy for "When I was a kid I was always trying to hide from people you know, because I was kind of different from other people." Japan's "It was really hard as a kid, I had a hard experience," he said Basketball helped him find his way and now Hachimura is using his platform to boost Black Lives Matter marches, proud to represent black kids, Japanese kids, and mixed kids everywhere. Rui Hachimura parents "As a mixed race kid growing up in Japan was very hard you know," says Hachimura, "especially, you know, Japan is one race." Born in Toayama on Japan's west coast about five hours' drive from Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a Beninese father, a young Rui grew up feeling different. "When I was a kid there wasn’t many, you know... Especially in my hometown, it’s small, in the countryside and I think we were the only black family in the town. It was really hard as a kid, I had a hard experience. Rui found his way through sport. "But I started playing basketball, I started playing sports and I was actually really good at it and I was more athletic than anybody else and I was good at everything you know, baseball, basketball, karate, soccer, track and field, I was always No.1 so that’s how people started respecting me more." "And I started to think, you know, it’s really good to be who I am, unique, it’s really unique, I’m half black and I’m half Japanese. "I've always been proud of who I am." Hachimura: "There's only one race in this world" Japan's basketball sensatio...

Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Rui Hachimura returns to Wizards practice: how do players condition themselves toward a return to play? He participated in a full practice yesterday with the Wizards. And we asked Dr. Lucas Wymore about how players can gain weight and continue to play effectively, given that there were reports that Hachimura lost weight when he reported to the Wizards. Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura made one more step to get closer to his return for the team, where he was a full participant in practice yesterday at the MedStar Health Performance Center. According to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, he did not participate in a live scrimmage or contact but had a hot shooting hand. Rui Hachimura draining threes at Wizards practice today. Unlike someone like Thomas Bryant (knee) or Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (back), Hachimura did not have a physical injury. So why are the Wizards taking (possibly too much) time to get him back on the court? The Monumental Basketball athlete care team, including the When I spoke to Dr. Lucas Wymore, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist of the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedic...

Rui Hachimura made his much-anticipated Lakers debut on Wednesday against the Spurs, checking in midway through the first quarter to a loud ovation from the Crypto.com Arena crowd. Hachimura had a solid debut, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in his 22 minutes off the bench. More impressive was his team-high plus-17. Hachimura did a lot of things to contribute to the Lakers' 113-104 win that didn't show up in the box score, hinting after just one game at what kind of value he can bring to the team. NBA LEAGUE PASS: Rui Hachimura stepped up when LeBron James sat down The Lakers kept Hachimura's role relatively simple on offense when he shared the floor with James. His job was mostly to stay in the corners or above the break on the 3-point line and stretch out the opposing defense. When James sat, his role increased, which was not a surprising development considering the Lakers have generally fallen apart on offense in James-free minutes. They leaned heavily on Hachimura, designing two plays specifically for him to clear out the entire left side and let him work in the post. Hachimura scored on a nifty baseline fadeaway jumper on the first and was fouled on a monstrous dunk attempt on the second. That left block area is Hachimura's best spot on the court. He has shot The first play that Lakers coach Darvin Ham ran for Hachimura is what is known as a Hawk Cut. That action allowed him to run off a screen from guard Dennis Schroder to get open and ...

Hachimura missed the Washington Wizards’ training camp, preseason and first 39 regular-season games while he dealt with an undisclosed personal issue. His absence hurt, depriving the team of one of its top young players and delaying his adjustment to new teammates and to the schemes employed by new coach Wes Unseld Jr. Although Hachimura played in 42 of the Wizards’ final 43 games, he remains one of the team’s most difficult players to forecast. The problem isn’t the personal issue that forced his layoff. The problem is that, three full seasons into his professional career, he has appeared in only 147 regular-season games, leaving him with a relatively thin NBA résumé for someone who will turn 25 years old in February. Scouts, coaches and front office officials throughout the league may have a good idea of how he’ll develop, but his relative lack of tangible experience leaves a smaller body of work to evaluate. “I think he’s a hard one (to assess) because he’s still young, and in many ways, he’s so much more inexperienced than a player his age,” said Scout A, one of the four scouts I interviewed for this article. “He hasn’t played as many games as you’d hope in three seasons.” To be clear, for this piece, I did not ask the scouts for their opinions about Hachimura’s absence at the outset of the 2021-22 season. When I asked them to make observations and draw conclusions, those contributions stem from what the scouts have seen on the court, not from their conjecture related ...

A member of the Wizards staff massages forward Rui Hachimura after he exited the Orlando Magic game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel) "We are excited to welcome Rui and his family to the Los Angeles Lakers," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. "Adding both size and depth to the wing position has been a goal, and the chance to accomplish that by acquiring a player with Rui’s two-way skills and upside was an opportunity that doesn’t present itself often. We want to thank Kendrick Nunn and his family for his time as a Laker, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future." Hachimura and the Wizards failed to agree to a rookie extension before the season started, which started the speculation over whether he would be in their future plans. Sources told ESPN the Lakers acquired Hachimura with the intention of signing him to an extension. Hachimura alluded to a potential trade last week. Wizards forward Rui Hachimura reacts after scoring against the Orlando Magic, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel) MAVS’ LUKA DONCIC ARRIVES TO ARENA IN FULLY LOADED, SIX-WHEEL TRUCK "I just want to be somewhere that wants me as a basketball player," he said. "And I want to be somewhere that likes my game.... I just want to be somewhere that believes in me and I can be myself. That’s my goal." Wizards forward Rui Hachimura smiles after scoring against Orlando Magic, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Pho...

Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Rui Hachimura returns to Wizards practice: how do players condition themselves toward a return to play? He participated in a full practice yesterday with the Wizards. And we asked Dr. Lucas Wymore about how players can gain weight and continue to play effectively, given that there were reports that Hachimura lost weight when he reported to the Wizards. Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura made one more step to get closer to his return for the team, where he was a full participant in practice yesterday at the MedStar Health Performance Center. According to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, he did not participate in a live scrimmage or contact but had a hot shooting hand. Rui Hachimura draining threes at Wizards practice today. Unlike someone like Thomas Bryant (knee) or Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (back), Hachimura did not have a physical injury. So why are the Wizards taking (possibly too much) time to get him back on the court? The Monumental Basketball athlete care team, including the When I spoke to Dr. Lucas Wymore, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist of the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedic...

Rui Hachimura will be one of the NBA’s most prominent rookies after becoming the first Japanese-born player selected in the first round — let alone the draft lottery. Here are 10 things to know about the international sensation. * * * Japan’s finest: A native of Japan’s Toyama Prefecture, Hachimura was born on Feb. 8 1998 to parents who are Japanese (mother) and Beninese (father). He said he chose to attend Gonzaga University over Arizona due to similarities between Spokane, Washington and his hometown. Hachimura has freely discussed “They looked at me like I was different. I got used to it. It is what it is because they don’t have but so many black people in Japan … I am really proud about being half-African and half-Japanese. It’s rare. I’m glad to be like this.” A rapid ascention: Though he three-peated as a national champion with Mesei High School of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, Hachimura played only 4.6 minutes as a freshman at Gonzaga. He then earned All-West Coast Conference First Team honors as a sophomore and was a consensus Second Team All-America pick as a junior. Perhaps his rise to No. 9 in the Draft should be less surprising than the mock Drafts indicated. A lack of control: Hachimura’s basketball journey begins in middle school … because The Spokesman-Review in 2018. “That’s why I switched.” For all the World to see: Hachimura averaged a tournament-best 22.6 points at the FIBA U17 World Championships in Dubai in August 2014. Doing so Working off the court: In ...

Hachimura missed the Washington Wizards’ training camp, preseason and first 39 regular-season games while he dealt with an undisclosed personal issue. His absence hurt, depriving the team of one of its top young players and delaying his adjustment to new teammates and to the schemes employed by new coach Wes Unseld Jr. Although Hachimura played in 42 of the Wizards’ final 43 games, he remains one of the team’s most difficult players to forecast. The problem isn’t the personal issue that forced his layoff. The problem is that, three full seasons into his professional career, he has appeared in only 147 regular-season games, leaving him with a relatively thin NBA résumé for someone who will turn 25 years old in February. Scouts, coaches and front office officials throughout the league may have a good idea of how he’ll develop, but his relative lack of tangible experience leaves a smaller body of work to evaluate. “I think he’s a hard one (to assess) because he’s still young, and in many ways, he’s so much more inexperienced than a player his age,” said Scout A, one of the four scouts I interviewed for this article. “He hasn’t played as many games as you’d hope in three seasons.” To be clear, for this piece, I did not ask the scouts for their opinions about Hachimura’s absence at the outset of the 2021-22 season. When I asked them to make observations and draw conclusions, those contributions stem from what the scouts have seen on the court, not from their conjecture related ...

It wasn't easy for "When I was a kid I was always trying to hide from people you know, because I was kind of different from other people." Japan's "It was really hard as a kid, I had a hard experience," he said Basketball helped him find his way and now Hachimura is using his platform to boost Black Lives Matter marches, proud to represent black kids, Japanese kids, and mixed kids everywhere. Rui Hachimura parents "As a mixed race kid growing up in Japan was very hard you know," says Hachimura, "especially, you know, Japan is one race." Born in Toayama on Japan's west coast about five hours' drive from Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a Beninese father, a young Rui grew up feeling different. "When I was a kid there wasn’t many, you know... Especially in my hometown, it’s small, in the countryside and I think we were the only black family in the town. It was really hard as a kid, I had a hard experience. Rui found his way through sport. "But I started playing basketball, I started playing sports and I was actually really good at it and I was more athletic than anybody else and I was good at everything you know, baseball, basketball, karate, soccer, track and field, I was always No.1 so that’s how people started respecting me more." "And I started to think, you know, it’s really good to be who I am, unique, it’s really unique, I’m half black and I’m half Japanese. "I've always been proud of who I am." Hachimura: "There's only one race in this world" Japan's basketball sensatio...