Former Gonzaga standout Rui Hachimura’s aggressive shooting pays dividends for Lakers
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Lakers got exactly what they wanted (and needed) from Rui Hachimura during their victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. They wanted aggressive play with the ball in his hands, and he delivered as needed with 29 points.
Hachimura tied Mychal Thompson for the most points by a Lakers reserve in a playoff game. Thompson scored 29 points in a May 1, 1988 game. Or more than a decade before Hachimura was born in Toyama, Japan, and more than 35 years before the Lakers and Grizzlies squared off.
Hachimura had 21 points in the second half on 8-for-9 shooting.
By the end of the game, it was difficult to know which of his baskets stood out most of all.
Most likely, it was the driving dunk he had over Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.
All of them were important, though.
“Just yesterday or two days ago, the whole team, we got in — not an argument — a conversation about my dunk package is kind of weak,” Hachimura said. “And I was showing all my highlights on YouTube and they were like, ‘No.’ They don’t like that. So, I told them, I said, ‘Look, this series, I’m going to have one. Just watch.’ So it happened today. They just told me, I got one. So, just the way we’ve been talking, they told me to be more aggressive. They want me to be aggressive on the offensive side and defensive side. Both sides. So, yeah, that’s what I did tonight.”
All joking aside, the Lakers wouldn’t have won Sunday without Hachimura. He’s been a steady contributor since Lakers coach Darvin Ham “went rogue” and left Hachimura out of the rotation for a loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 26, and his shooting in Game 1 was not entirely unexpected.
At least, Ham wasn’t surprised, anyway.
“I love Rui,” Ham said. “I mean, he’s one of the brightest young men I’ve been around and had the opportunity to coach in my life. He’s multi-faceted. He’s strong. He’s got great hands. He can get out and run and go up top. Very, very athletic. And can put the ball in the hole, as you saw. Just encouraging him to be assertive, aggressive.”
It wasn’t easy at first, after Hachimura joined the Lakers in a Jan. 23 trade from the Washington Wizards, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2019.
“You could see when he first arrived, he was trying to sort of tiptoe around LeBron (James) and A.D. (Anthony Davis) trying to figure out where his spots were going to come,” Ham said. “They’re going to figure it out. These guys want to see you in a position to help them as much as you want to help them.
“He listens. He watches film. We highlighted certain things in film sessions with him. He’s seeing the fruits of that labor. I told him, ‘Just go out and be free, be aggressive. The only mistake you could make on this team is to just not compete and not play together with your teammates.’ That’s it.”
Hachimura considered himself the beneficiary of good ball movement.
“The second half, we were in a good rhythm,” Hachimura said. “We were sharing the ball and all the shots just came to me.”
Hachimura’s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with Washington, which lost a first-round series to Philadelphia, but he helped the Lakers wrestle home-court advantage from the team with the best home record in the league this season.
“Rui was huge (Sunday),” teammate Austin Reaves added. “His skill-set is crazy. For us to get him with all the talent we have, it just brings another aspect to our team.”