1. Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.
23 Facts About Rui Hachimura
1. 2.
Rui Hachimura played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and has played for the Japan national team.
3.
Rui Hachimura plays both the small forward and power forward positions.
4.
Rui Hachimura joined Gonzaga in 2016 as the fifth Japanese-born men's NCAA Division I player and in 2017 became the first Japanese national to play in the NCAA Division I men's tournament.
5.
Rui Hachimura was named a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year.
6.
Rui Hachimura was born on February 8,1998, in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, to a Japanese mother, Makiko and a Beninese father, Zakari Jabil.
7.
On December 29,2015, Rui Hachimura posted 34 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks to guide Meisei past Tsuchiura Nihon University High School for his third All-Japan Tournament victory.
8.
In May 2016, Rui Hachimura announced that he met the SAT and GPA requirements to be eligible to play at Gonzaga beginning as early as fall 2016.
9.
Rui Hachimura planned to play as a true freshman and did not redshirt his first year.
10.
Rui Hachimura made his regular season debut for the Gonzaga Bulldogs on November 11,2016, against Utah Valley, recording one point and three rebounds in four minutes.
11.
Rui Hachimura scored eight points on February 23,2017, against San Diego, helping his team win the West Coast Conference title.
12.
On November 21,2018, Rui Hachimura recorded 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists to help upset No 1-ranked Duke in the Maui Invitational finals.
13.
Rui Hachimura was selected the 2019 WCC Player of the Year.
14.
Rui Hachimura was the second Japanese-born player to be drafted into the NBA after Yasutaka Okayama, who was drafted 171st overall in the 1981 NBA draft, and the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round.
15.
On September 15,2020, Rui Hachimura was named to the second-team NBA All-Rookie Team.
16.
On September 25,2021, the Wizards announced that Rui Hachimura had been excused from the start of training camp for personal reasons.
17.
On January 23,2023, Rui Hachimura was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round draft picks.
18.
Rui Hachimura scored 29 points in his Lakers post-season debut to lead the team to a first-round Game 1 victory over the No 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, and in the Western Conference Finals, was frequently given the defensive assignment of guarding Denver's offensive juggernaut Nikola Jokic, allowing LA's defensive linchpin Anthony Davis more freedom to roam the court as a help defender.
19.
On July 6,2023, Rui Hachimura re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
20.
Japan finished the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships 14th of 16 teams, with Rui Hachimura scoring a tournament-high 22.6 points per game, while pulling down 6.6 rebounds and blocking 1.7 shots per contest.
21.
Rui Hachimura competed for Japan in the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging team-bests 20.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a contest.
22.
Rui Hachimura scored a game high 34 points in a loss to Slovenia during the preliminary round of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
23.
Rui Hachimura was called up for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but ultimately withdrew on 27 June citing exhaustion from the NBA season and playoffs, in which his team had made the Western Conference Finals, and the need to prepare for the following NBA season.