Rui Hachimura Articles - Page 5

The season didn’t end quite as planned for the Los Angeles Lakers, but then, unless you win the championship, when does it? Despite flaming out in ignominious fashion courtesy of the Denver Nuggets, they still demonstrated a terrific turnaround in the latter stages of the season, going from a team which was up against it […]

The Los Angeles Lakers certainly exceeded expectations during their 2023 NBA Playoffs run, but everything came to a screeching halt in the Western Conference Finals when they were swept by the Denver Nuggets. Now, the Lakers have some big questions to answer this offseason, with one of them being the future of Rui Hachimura. Hachimura […]

As the old adage goes, “when one door closes, another one opens”. This was the exact story of Rui Hachimura’s 2022-23 season. The Washington Wizards’ glut of forwards rendered Hachimura expendable in D.C., but here the Japanese international is, having emerged as one of the key members of the Los Angeles Lakers roster. He became […]

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves on the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs after dropping the first three games of the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets. That has led some to start talking about the Lakers’ offseason, one that is filled with lots of questions that seem to already have answers. […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are staring at the end of their season. They trail the Denver Nuggets 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals, coming up short despite making strong pushes in each game to take the victory. LA has gone to many different tactics to slow down Nikola Jokic and company and none of them […]

The Denver Nuggets may find themselves boasting a commanding 2-0 series lead in this year’s Western Conference Finals, but the Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves fighting throughout. Several individuals within Darvin Ham’s rotation have put forth valiant efforts through these first two contests played, and fourth-year pro, Rui Hachimura, has been the most recent […]

Rui Hachimura had another big game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. The 25-year-old exploded in the first half for 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting. He did well to keep the Lakers in this one, but ultimately, it was the Denver Nuggets who escaped with another hard-fought victory, 108-103, to secure […]

Rui Hachimura has been making all sorts of headlines of late. He played a key role yet again for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. Despite the fact that the Lakers ultimately lost, 108-103, Rui was a bright spot for LA, scoring 21 points off […]

Rui Hachimura played a key role for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. It was when the Lakers decided to match up Hachimura with Nikola Jokic that LA was able to mount a massive comeback to give themselves a chance to steal away Game 1 […]

Head coach Darvin Ham may be about to answer the desperate pleas of Los Angeles Lakers fans who were clamoring for forward Rui Hachimura to be in the starting lineup following LA’s Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Ham is considering starting Hachimura in Game 2, league sources told Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. […]

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone believes too much is being made of the Lakers’ hyped adjustment on Nikola Jokic. Jokic put on a masterful performance as his 34-point, 21-rebound, 14-assist triple double helped the No. 1 seed to a 132-126 victory in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead over the Lakers in the Western […]

The Los Angeles Lakers ran into a Denver Nuggets buzzsaw at the outset of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. They adjusted and fought back, but it wasn’t quite enough. The Nuggets prevailed, 132-126. For the first time in the NBA Playoffs, the Lakers failed to steal Game 1 on the road. Seeding aside, the Lakers […]

The NBA playoffs is almost always a competition between which team can make the necessary adjustments at the most opportune moments. Talent almost always wins out in the end, but matchups, coverages and rotation choices matter. This means that coaching matters. And it definitely seemed like Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham stumbled upon […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a tough Game 2 loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors by a score of 127-100. The second half is where the Warriors dominated, and it led to one of the worst losses of the 2023 NBA Playoffs for the Lakers. However, one bright spot did continue, as […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are an intriguing team to look at in the offseason. Minnesota made a big move last offseason to acquire Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz. Gobert, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, had a tough season with the Timberwolves. Gobert averaged 13.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks across […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a surprising 2-1 series lead in their first round playoff matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies as the No. 7 seed. But for all the talk of having LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the star of the show has arguably been Rui Hachimura who is appearing in the postseason for […]

It comes as no surprise that there has been a lot of back and forth between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies amid their NBA Playoffs first-round encounter. Dillon Brooks has once again taken the role of instigator, and he’s gone as far as firing direct shots at none other than LeBron James. […]

Rui Hachimura has accomplished something no one in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform has done since Magic Johnson. The former Gonzaga Bulldog became the franchise’s first to scorer 20-plus points in back-to-back playoff games off the bench since Magic Johnson did it in 1996. Hachimura lit up the FedExForum scoreboard en route to 20 points, […]

Rui Hachimura reminded everyone Sunday night that he is an integral piece of the Los Angeles Lakers. After he helped the Lakers score a 128-112 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on the road to take Game 1 of this NBA Playoffs series in the first round, Hachimura was also exposed by his teammate, big man […]

The Los Angeles Lakers took  a 1-0 series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies with a 128-112 win, and Rui Hachimura’s 29 points were a big part of it. Desmond Bane does not believe that Hachimura can replicate that performance, though. “It’s probably the best game of his career,” Bane said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. […]

If anyone had a bet going on which member of the Los Angeles Lakers would have an historic performance that would remind people of Magic Johnson, LeBron James or Anthony Davis would probably be the ones who get the most play. Sunday afternoon, Rui Hachimura said his name should be mentioned in the bets. In […]

A lot is on the line for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Tuesday’s all-important NBA Play-In Game. As such, it comes as no surprise that emotions were running high early in the contest. So much so, that Rui Hachimura and Anthony Edwards got involved in a bit of a scuffle […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura is finally getting comfortable with the team’s offense. But this should come as no surprise with the four-year pro given plenty of opportunity to make an impact as of late. Averaging 22.7 minutes per game in April, Hachimura saw his month-to-month usage rate go from 15.9 percent in March […]

The Portland Trail Blazers will have a couple of tasks to complete this offseason, primarily dealing with their frontcourt. Two of their primary rotation players, 23-year-old Cam Reddish and nine-year veteran Jerami Grant, are set to become free agents this offseason. With star guard Damian Lillard long making it clear that he wants to play […]

Without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers somehow got the job done Wednesday night, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, 123-117. The victory was a product of a collective effort for the rest of the Lakers players healthy enough to suit up, including Rui Hachimura who gave the […]

Kevin Durant wasn’t about to let Shaq get away with this huge Rui Hachimura mistake. The NBA legend slandered the recently acquired Los Angeles Lakers forward, calling him a nobody after the team dealt for him ahead of the trade deadline. Well, Shaq had a change of heart and apologized to Hachimura. There was just […]

The Rui Hachimura trade by the Los Angeels Lakers was one of the first big trades before the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline. The deal drew a lot of reactions from fans and analysts, some of which were good. One of the negative reactions, though, came from a former LA legend in Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq dissed […]

After previously wearing no. 8 with the Washington Wizards in honor of idol Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura has switched his jersey number to no. 28. According to Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss, who was making an appearance on Stephen A. Smiths podcast Know Mercy, Hachimura did so in order to […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be shorthanded yet again on Monday night when they face off against the Brooklyn Nets. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have already been ruled out with respective injuries, which has now led to a noteworthy move-up for newcomer Rui Hachimura. According to Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, […]

Rui Hachimura has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for barely a couple of days, and he’s already experienced so much drama. The age-old Celtics-Lakers rivalry game was marred by controversy after a blatant missed call on a LeBron James game-winner attempt. Almost everyone sided with LA, as it was painfully clear that they were […]

After Shaquille O’Neal dissed the Los Angeles Lakers’ trade for Rui Hachimura, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant came to the youngster’s defense and questioned if Shaq is really watching basketball. Shaq saw Durant’s question and decided to respond, not really with an answer but rather with a savage roasting of his own. To recall, O’Neal […]

The Los Angeles Lakers’ Rui Hachimura trade might have decreased the team’s chances of signing a star free agent in the upcoming offseason. Rival NBA executives had told HoopsHype that they think the Rui Hachimura trade will make it harder for the Lakers to sign marquee players in free agency. Kyrie Irving has been the […]

The Washington Wizards pulled off one of the first big trades in the NBA trade season when they sent Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round draft picks. But this may not have been the Wizards top option when it came to trading Hachimura, as they were […]

The general consensus has been great for the Los Angeles Lakers and their decision to trade for Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards. So much so, that even Charles Barkley could not help but heap praise on Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for being the architect behind this eye-opening deal. In true Charles Barkley fashion, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers addressed an area of need (in theory) by trading for Rui Hachimura on Monday — kicking off the NBA’s unofficial trade season and hopefully jump-starting the market ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline. Rob Pelinka wisely swapped a redundant guard (Kendrick Nunn) for Hachimura, who offers the size (6’8, 230 pounds, […]

Rui Hachimura is a pretty big deal in Japan. So are the Los Angeles Lakers. Put Hachimura in a Lakers uniform, and you get a widespread server crash. Hachimura made his debut for the Lakers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, three days after being traded by the Washington Wizards. In 22 minutes, Hachimura scored […]

The Rui Hachimura trade got more than a few Los Angeles Lakers fans excited. He’s no star, but the 24-year-old is expected to make an impact on his new team as LA looks to make a push for a playoff spot in the West. As it turns out, however, not everyone was over the moon […]

The Washington Wizards made a big move on Monday when they decided to pull the trigger on a trade deal that saw Rui Hachimura make his way to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange, the Wizards received Kendrick Nunn and two future second-round picks. This trade wasn’t just a straightforward swap of assets for the […]

With the February trade deadline fast approaching, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to make a move. The team traded guard Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Rui Hachimura, who has yet to make his debut for the purple and gold. So when Keldon Johnson and the San […]