21-year-old draft prospect Rui Hachimura hasn't officially been selected by an NBA team yet and already, he has signed his first endorsement deal. The Japanese-born forward has reportedly put pen to paper on a lucrative endorsement contract with Japanese instant noodles company Nissin.
JUST IN: @rui_8mura, who tomorrow will become the first Japanese player drafted by an NBA team, has signed an endorsement deal with Nissin, maker of Cup Noodles. Joins other Japanese stars tennis players Naomi Osaka & Kei Nishikori as brand embassadors. pic.twitter.com/Hz1iN6D4A4
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 19, 2019
Hachimura is coming off a very impressive junior year with Gonzaga, wherein he put up 19.7 points (on 59.1 percent shooting), .04 three-pointers, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 30.2 minutes per contest. What stands out the most for the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward is perhaps that he is a physically-gifted specimen that has the build to excel in the NBA.
While there are some mock drafts that have placed him as a potential top 10 selection, a more realistic landing spot for Hachimura would probably be at the No. 12 spot with the Charlotte Hornets. He is a very athletic player and a proven scorer, so he should fit in well in head coach James Borrego's system.
As the tweet above emphasized, Rui Hachimura will make history in tonight's draft by being the first Japanese player to be drafted in the entire history of the league. Hachimura has worked tremendously hard to get to where he is today, and he is currently reaping the rewards of all his effort. This, of course, includes a big-money deal with arguably the biggest instant noodle company in the world for a young man that has become a household name in his native of Japan.
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