LOS ANGELES – When the 2025-26 season tips-off, four of the five starters for the Los Angeles Lakers are certain to be LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton. Whom the fifth starter is for the Lakers is a little less certain. Last season, the starting small forward spot was held by Rui Hachimura, who would appear to have a good shot to reprise that role.
In James, Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers have three experienced and elite ball-handlers. All three figure to have the ball in their hands, and each will take turns functioning as a primary playmaker and shot creator. In the other two starters, the Lakers will expert off-ball movers. Ayton can do so in the pick and roll as the roller, and then Hachimura fits in as a catch-and-shoot player and as a cutter.
Last season, Rui Hachimura led the Lakers in points off cuts at 2.4, as per Raj Chipalu of Silver Screen and Roll. It’s something Hachimura credits to watching a lot of film and seeing how best he can take advantage of the opportunities created from having teammates that are the focus of opposing defenses.
“Luka posting, and LeBron too, they get a lot of attention. So for me it’s just an easy game. Most of the time I’m wide open. They’re always watching them, so that’s why I got a lot of those back cuts,” Hachimura said during Media Day. “I kind of figured it out throughout the season, those are easy points for me. And it’s not a set play or anything, I just have to kind of read it.”
“We just have to help each other. Those guys can easily attack the rim, playmaking, all that stuff,” Hachimura continued. “I watched a lot of film on that, when to cut or catch-and-shoot, all that kind of stuff. It’s all about timing and chemistry. So I think we’re building that and we just got to keep building.”
Since Hachimura joined the Lakers ahead of the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season, he’s been a fixture in the starting lineup. Last year, he appeared in 59 games, including 57 starts, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists with splits of 50.9 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
