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LA Lakers power forward Rui Hachimura had an incredible performance during Japan's exhibition game against Serbia at the Belgrade Arena on Sunday. Hachimura held his own against 3x NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, but his individual explosion on the offensive end did not translate into a win for Japan. The game ended with a score of 100-119, in favor of Serbia.
26-year-old Hachimura dropped 29 points and grabbed four rebounds. He shot 65% from the field and 62.5% from the 3-point range, where he shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
While several fans praised Hachimura on X/Twitter, a few criticized ex-Lakers coach Darvin Ham for failing to extract the best out of the young player last season. They also hoped that new coach JJ Redick would do a better job with Hachimura.
"Darvin Ham hindered him all season so he could play his pookie bear Prince, but no more," a fan commented.
"Ham really started Reddish and Prince over this guy smh," wrote another X/Twitter user.
One of the fans reckoned the reason behind Hachimura's big offensive outing was due to the absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Another fan shed light on how role players seem to elevate their game when they become the focal point of a team.
The onus is on Rui Hachimura to lead Japan in Olympics
Hachimura was born in Toyama, Japan and began his basketball career there. He led Meisei High School to back-to-back championships at the All-Japan High School Tournament in 2013 and 2014. He signified his intent to play for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in 2015, and played as a true freshman a year later.
Hachimura has consistently delivered for the Japanese national basketball team. During Japan's 83-104 loss against Germany on Friday, he scored 19 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and registered one block.
His stock lifted after his commendable performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was the 4th-leading scorer, trailing only Ricky Rubio (Spain), Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Patty Mills (Australia). Hachimura averaged 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, two assists, 0.3 steals and 0.7 blocks in three games—where he shot 40.9% from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point range.
