Los Angeles Clippers wing Rui Hachimura is having a career-best season with his new club after leaving the crosstown Los Angeles Lakers.
After spending parts of the last four seasons with the Lakers, Hachimura signed with the Clippers on a two-year, $28 million deal with a team option for the second season.
So far, the deal is looking great for both sides, as Hachimura is averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 rebounds, which are both career-best averages for the eight-year NBA player who began his career with the Washington Wizards.
Rui Hachimura Playing Great Basketball for Clippers
Speaking to NBA.com, Hachimura explained what has made him so comfortable with the Clippers and why he is playing so well right now.
“I’m a team player, whatever the team asks, I want to fit in… When I got to the Lakers (in a trade from Washington in 2023), I wasn’t a shooter. That’s the thing that I had to work on to fit into the role and I became a shooter,” Hachimura said.
“Here, I’m doing a lot more ball handling. I have to come off the screen and all that kind of stuff. That’s my (next) step, but those are things that I like to do. So I think you are going to see more of that.”
Bradley Beal Praises Rui Hachimura
Hachimura’s teammate on the Clippers, Bradley Beal, has been super impressed by what he’s seen from his younger teammate so far, and had nothing but good things to say about the way that he’s playing so far this season.
“This dude can do a lot of things out there on the floor. He can defend one through five. He can put pressure on the basket. He can spot up and shoot 3s. He can come off pin downs and be a threat. He can play in pick-and-rolls as a ball handler and a screener. He’s a threat. He’s a very versatile player… A lot of people may be unaware of some of the things that he’s able to do, the consistency and the level he’s able to do it at. He has a lot of game (that) he’ll be able to showcase. And I think just a wow factor behind his productivity and his consistency will be what opens a lot of eyes,” Beal said.
The Clippers are 1-7 this season, but Hachimura has been one of the team’s bright spots in a lost year.
Rui Hachimura Having Career-Best Season for Clippers