Former Gonzaga star Rui Hachimura finds meaningful role on Los Angeles Lakers

In a one-possession game with four minutes left, Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis shot a pass over to the right corner to a hot-handed Austin Reeves, who pump-faked to drive baseline before dishing out a behind-the-back pass to a wide-open Rui Hachimura on the right wing. Hachimura’s 31.9% mark from 3-point land this season wasn’t enough to earn the respect of the Memphis Grizzlies defense, but that didn’t stop him from rising and nailing his fifth triple of the night to give the Lakers a 111-106 lead in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference quarterfinals.

The Lakers ran away from the Grizzlies down the stretch, closing out on a 15-0 run as Hachimura poured in a franchise playoff record 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting off the bench, including an astounding 5-for-6 from 3.

Entering Sunday, Hachimura had 16 games over his four-year NBA career in which he made three or more 3-pointers. But the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star has shown gradual improvement on low-volume attempts since entering the league, and even if Desmond Bane’s comments on Hachimura’s breakout game are validated by the end of the playoffs - the “Rui awakening” as ESPN’s Mark Jackson coined it - was exactly what the Lakers needed and sought when they acquired him from Washington at the trade deadline.

Three weeks before his historic playoff performance, Hachimura was traded to Los Angeles for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks, ending his nearly four-year tenure with the Washington Wizards. The deal made sense for both sides. The Lakers needed more size, youth and athleticism on the wing, which meant converting Hachimura from his primary position as a power forward.

It was a move both Hachimura and the organization saw coming after both sides failed to reach an agreement on a rookie extension last offseason, which only added to Hachimura’s reported unhappiness with his decreased role on the team.

After playing over 30 minutes per game as a starter in his first two seasons, Hachimura averaged 23.4 minutes per contest while coming off the bench for Washington. His durability was also a concern — he’s never played more than 57 games in a season. He missed the first 39 games of the 2021-22 campaign to tend to his mental health, while an ankle injury kept him out of 16 games this season.

“I just want to be somewhere that wants me as a basketball player,” Hachimura told reporters after dropping 30 points in his last game as a Wizard on Jan. 21. “And I want to be somewhere that likes my game. ... I just want to be somewhere that believes in me and I can be myself. That’s my goal.”

That led Hachimura to land in Los Angeles, which at the time of the trade was 12th in the Western Conference standings at 22-25 and without Davis and LeBron James in the lineup due to injuries. Seeing untapped potential in the 25-year-old, the Lakers utilized Hachimura’s combination of athleticism and size to transition him into a wing position from an on-ball initiator as a power forward.

In his first game as a Laker, Hachimura finished with 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and posted a team-high plus-17 in 22 minutes off the bench in the Lakers’ 113-04 win over San Antonio. Lakers' head coach Darvin Ham called Hachimura’s number twice in the fourth quarter with plays designed specifically for him to clear out the entire left side and let him work in the post. The first resulted in a score from the baseline, while the second nearly ended with an emphatic one-hand dunk if it wasn’t offset by a foul.

The Lakers continued to lean on their newest acquisition. In his third game and second start, Hachimura poured in 19 points and delivered a critical block in a 129-123 double-overtime win over the Knicks, playing alongside LeBron James and Davis. In eight starts, he averaged 12.0 points per game on 47.4% shooting from the field, though he would later return to a reserve role for the final 24 games of the regular season.

Sitting at 26-32, health was the only obstacle preventing the Lakers from climbing back into the playoff picture. With their new cast of players fully healthy, the Lakers went 17-7 over the final 24 games of the regular season and earned a spot in the playoffs as the seventh seed in the West.

Though the Lakers were rolling, Hachimura’s role and minutes were inconsistent coming off the bench. He played less than 20 minutes per game during a seven-game stretch in March. Amid Ham’s concerns over Hachimura’s effort, focus and aggression, he was a healthy scratch in Los Angeles' 10-point loss to Chicago on March 26.

Hachimura responded to the benching with an impressive stretch of play. He closed out the regular season averaging 12.8 points per game on 53.8% shooting from the floor.

With a newfound trust from his coaches and teammates, Hachimura’s role in the Lakers' playoff run could determine his future with the organization. He’s due for an extension this offseason, as he gets set to enter restricted free agency. Los Angeles initially made the trade with the intention of picking up his $7.7 million qualifying offer, as they look to retain the youthful talent currently on the roster with 38-year-old James and 30-year-old Davis.