Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. He gained prominence playing college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs before being drafted ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2019 NBA draft. He was recognized for his early performance, earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2020. Hachimura represents Japan on the national team and is capable of playing both small forward and power forward positions.
In 1981 Yasutaka Okayama was drafted 171st overall in the NBA draft, becoming the first Japanese-born player to be drafted into the NBA.
On February 8, 1998, Rui Hachimura was born. He is a Japanese professional basketball player currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.
On December 29, 2013, Rui Hachimura led the Meisei High School basketball team to its second title in the All-Japan High School Tournament, scoring 32 points in a 92–78 win over Fukuoka University Ohori.
At the 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Iran, Rui Hachimura averaged 22.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, guiding his team to a third-place finish.
During the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships, Japan finished 14th, and Rui Hachimura scored a tournament-high 22.6 points per game.
In 2014, Rui Hachimura helped his team win the All-Japan High School Tournament for a second straight year.
In April 2015, Rui Hachimura was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic, where he recorded nine points and five rebounds in the International Game.
On November 21, 2015, Rui Hachimura signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
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.
In February 2016, Rui Hachimura claimed to understand 80 percent of English but speak only 30–40 percent of it.
In April 2016, Rui Hachimura was still studying for the SAT to gain entrance to college.
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.
On November 11, 2016, Rui Hachimura made his regular season debut for the Gonzaga Bulldogs against Utah Valley, recording one point and three rebounds in four minutes, becoming the fifth Japanese-born player to ever play NCAA Division I basketball.
In 2016, Rui Hachimura joined Gonzaga as the fifth Japanese-born men's NCAA Division I player.
On February 23, 2017, Rui Hachimura scored eight points against San Diego, helping his team win the West Coast Conference (WCC) title.
On March 16, 2017, Rui Hachimura played one minute against South Dakota State, becoming the first Japanese native to ever appear in the NCAA Division I men's tournament.
During the 2017–18 campaign, Rui Hachimura appeared in 37 games for Gonzaga, including two starts, averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
In 2017, Rui Hachimura became the first Japanese national to play in the NCAA Division I men's tournament.
In 2017, Rui Hachimura competed for Japan in the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging team-bests 20.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a contest.
On November 6, 2018, Rui Hachimura opened the regular season by scoring 33 points in a 120–79 win over Idaho State.
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 and was named most valuable player of the tournament.
On April 15, 2019, Rui Hachimura announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA draft.
On October 23, 2019, Rui Hachimura made his NBA debut with the Washington Wizards, posting a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) as a starter in a 100–108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
On December 1, 2019, Rui Hachimura scored a then career-high 30 points in a 125–150 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
In December 2019, Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe of the Memphis Grizzlies became the first pair of Japanese players to face each other in the NBA. Rui Hachimura also suffered a groin injury against the Detroit Pistons on December 16 and had surgery and missed several games.
In 2019, Rui Hachimura was selected ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in the NBA draft.
In 2019, Rui Hachimura was selected the WCC Player of the Year and led Gonzaga in scoring with 19.7 points per game.
On February 19, 2020, Bleacher Report named Rui Hachimura the worst defensive power forward in the NBA.
On September 15, 2020, Rui Hachimura was named to the second-team NBA All-Rookie Team.
During the preliminary round of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Rui Hachimura scored a game high 34 points in a loss to Slovenia.
In 2020, Rui Hachimura was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
On March 30, 2021, Rui Hachimura tied his then career high of 30 points in a 104–114 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
On September 25, 2021, the Wizards announced that Rui Hachimura had been excused from the start of training camp for personal reasons.
On January 9, 2022, Rui Hachimura made his season debut, recording six points and three rebounds in a 102–100 win over the Orlando Magic.
On January 21, 2023, in his last game before being traded, Rui Hachimura recorded a then career-high-tying 30 points, alongside five rebounds and two blocks, in a 138–118 win over the Orlando Magic.
On January 23, 2023, Rui Hachimura was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round draft picks.
On July 6, 2023, Rui Hachimura re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
On December 9, 2023, Rui Hachimura and the Lakers won the inaugural season of the NBA In-Season Tournament (also known as the NBA Cup).
As of the 2023–24 B.League season, Rui Hachimura's younger brother, Allen, plays for the Gunma Crane Thunders.
In the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Rui Hachimura played a vital role for the Lakers, scoring 29 points in his Lakers post-season debut and guarding Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Finals.
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, and the need to prepare for the following NBA season.
On February 14, 2024, Rui Hachimura set a new career high of 36 points in a 138–122 victory over the Utah Jazz.
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