The Los Angeles Lakers are still finding chemistry with the new players on their team, and it looks like things are coming along easily. For Deandre Ayton, he has some familiar faces that he knows on the team, one of whom includes Rui Hachimura from some time ago. Hachimura recently spoke about his bond with Ayton and where they first met.
“He has an interesting personality,” Hachimura said. “I love him already. He’s a character. I think me and him are the same age almost. I know him from NBA camp when I was 16, the NBA Without Borders. I was with him that year, so it's funny to see that it was 10, 12 years ago, and now we're teammates.”
“He has an interesting personality. I love him already. He’s a character.” Rui Hachimura on new Lakers center, Deandre Ayton. Hachimura also shared a funny story about when he first met Ayton at Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Toronto during the 2016 All-Star Weekend. pic.twitter.com/KusLJQRfdq
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 24, 2025
It's good that Hachimura and Ayton are building something off the court, and that should make things easy on the court. Ayton didn't have a big game in his season debut for the Lakers against the Golden State, but he did what he could to make his presence known.
As the season progresses, he should be able to get more acclimated with the team, especially with players such as Luka Doncic, who will be feeding him passes for the most part in the pick-and-roll and the paint.
Lakers still figuring out chemistry with Deandre Ayton
After their loss against the Warriors, Ayton made an admission that had some fans scratching their heads to start the season.
“Today I realized, I’m probably a confusing big, when I can roll and stand just in the pocket. It’s probably a little difficult for them sometimes. I’m so used to the league having that low man on me, so sometimes I can’t even finish a roll,” Ayton said via ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The pick-and-roll will be key for this team's success, and Ayton will be involved in those plays a lot. Ayton has a unique skillset where he can pop and shoot a jumpshot, or he can roll to the basket. Once he and the ball handler get on the same page, the play should become seamless. Some fans have already grown tired of Ayton after just watching him in the preseason and the first game of the regular season, but they have to give him some time before making quick judgments.
Things could get even more confusing when LeBron James returns, as he hasn't been able to play with Ayton at all yet.
