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LeBron James had a lot of praise for Rui Hachimura after the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their first-round series on April 16.
James said Hachimura was “huge.”
“He was huge,” James said about Hachimura. “Like you said, he hit timely shots. They made runs in the third quarter, he hit two 3s in a row. They made another run in the fourth quarter, he hit another 3 of an AR (Austin Reaves) pump-fake, drive, behind-the-back pass. He also had a beautiful, turnaround baseline jumper by their bench. He was just on time, on target all night tonight and we needed that, especially coming off the bench, especially as well as their bench is. They got so many great players come off their bench. So we was able to counter that with Rui’s big game.”
Hachimura was incredible in Game 1 against the Grizzlies. He scored 29 points while shooting 11-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Gonzago product tied Mychal Thompson’s Lakers franchise record for most points by a reserve in a playoff game.
The Lakers beat the Grizzlies by a final score of 128-112 to take a 1-0 series lead. They stole home-court advantage and will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead in Game 2, which is on April 19.
LeBron James: Rui Hachimura Is Very Important to Our Team
James told reporters that Hachimura is very important to the Lakers’ success. Los Angeles acquired the forward from the Washington Wizards in January.
“I just try to stay in his ear,” James said. “Give him positive motivation, give him positive messages, let him know how important he is to our team, and in order for us to reach the goal we wanna reach, he has to be a huge part of that and he wants to be.”
Hachimura appeared in 33 games with the Lakers during the regular season and averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 48.5% from the floor, 29.6% from 3 and 72.1% from the free-throw line. The 25-year-old becomes a restricted free agent this summer.
The Lakers Acquired Rui Hachimura With the Intention of Re-Signing Him
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in January that the Lakers acquired Hachimura from the Wizards with the intention of re-signing him. Hachimura will become a restricted free agent this offseason once Los Angeles offers him a qualifying offer of $8.5 million.
“Los Angeles acquired Hachimura with the intention of signing him to an extension this summer, sources said. Hachimura can be a restricted free agent,” Wojnarowski reported. “The Lakers believe that Hachimura gives them another sizable wing defender who has shown an ability to make corner 3-pointers and midrange shots when teams run the Lakers off the 3-point line. He has shot 40.8% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers over the past two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, and is shooting 35.1% on catch-and-shoot 3s over the course of his career.”
Hachimura has career averages of 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists with the Wizards and Lakers. He was the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft. Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported in January that Hachimura is “expected to command a double-digit annual salary” in free agency.
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