Rui Hachimura member of sports team Washington Wizards
Professional career
Washington Wizards (2019–2023)
On April 15, 2019, Hachimura announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA draft, where he was drafted ninth overall by the Washington Wizards. Hachimura was the second Japanese-born player to be drafted into the NBA after Yasutaka Okayama, who was drafted 171st overall in the 1981 NBA draft, and also the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round. On October 23, 2019, Hachimura made his NBA debut, posting a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) as a starter in a 100–108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. On December 1, 2019, Hachimura scored a career-high 30 points in a 125–150 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers along with nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.In December 2019, he and Yuta Watanabe of the Memphis Grizzlies became the first pair of Japanese players to face each other in the NBA. Hachimura suffered a groin injury against the Detroit Pistons on December 16 and had surgery and missed several games. On September 15, Hachimura was named to the second-team NBA All-Rookie Team.On March 30, 2021, Hachimura tied his career high of 30 points in a 104–114 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. On May 23, he made his playoff debut during the first round, recording 12 points and five rebounds in a 118–125 Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On May 31, Hachimura logged 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 122–114 Game 4 win. The Wizards ended up losing the series in five games.
On September 25, 2021, the Wizards announced that Hachimura had been excused from the start of training camp due to personal reasons. He made his season debut on January 9, 2022, recording six points and three rebounds in a 102–100 win over the Orlando Magic. During the 2021–22 NBA season, Hachimura played 42 games while averaging 11.3 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, and 1.1 assists per game. This represented a slight dip in his career averages. However, his three-point shooting improved dramatically: Hachimura's 44.7 percent rate was second only to Luke Kennard (44.9 percent) among NBA players with at least 100 attempts.On January 21, 2023, in his last game before being traded, Hachimura recorded a career-high-tying 30 points, alongside five rebounds and two blocks, in a 138–118 win over the Orlando Magic.
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