Wednesday marked the first time Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura returned to Washington D.C. to face his former team, the Wizards. After some up-and-down play in his four seasons in Washington, he was shipped to L.A. for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks at the trade deadline last season.
It seems that the Lakers were able to unlock Hachimura as he is becoming a reliable scoring threat alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Since being inserted in the starting lineup, he is taking his scoring to another level and looks incredibly comfortable after struggling to find a role this season.
Getting back to his return to Washington, Hachimura put up 19 points and seven rebounds on 9-for-12 from the field in 27 minutes. The former Gonzaga Bulldog described how it felt to return where it all started, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“It felt a little weird. I was here for five years and came back, don’t think I’ve come back since the trade, this was the first time. So a little different. But everybody welcomed me back, I know all these people that work here for the Wizards or whatever so they came and said hi, it was great to see them. I missed them. It was a great time here.”
Sometimes being on a bad team can hinder a player’s development and that looked to be the case with Hachimura. After being a rebuilding team for several seasons, seeing the 26-year-old get an opportunity to learn and grow in a winning environment is great to see.
Despite some challenges adjusting to various roles and inconsistent minutes, Hachimura is finding his groove at the right time for the Lakers. With the Play-In Tournament approaching and a possible playoff appearance after that, L.A. is going to need Hachimura to have a repeat performance from last postseason for the team to be successful.
LeBron James believes Rui Hachimura has looked ‘comfortable’ since entering Lakers starting lineup
As the regular season winds down, Rui Hachimura is a major catalyst behind L.A. stacking up as many wins as possible. In the last 10 games, he is averaging 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds on 62.4% from the field and 45.7% from 3-point range.
Now starting 33 games on the season, it is reassuring to see Hachimura finally secure a consistent role on the team. But, a part of his success comes from playing off of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Since this change was made, James believes the forward is looking more ‘comfortable’ since entering the starting five.
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