RUI HACHIMURA = THE X-FACTOR OF THE ENTIRE NBA PLAYOFFS
WRITTEN + EDITED BY JORDYN BONTRAGER
As long as LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are healthy, the Los Angeles Lakers have a true chance at a championship this season. The synergy that trio has showcased since the trade deadline has been surreal, and these guys have this team playing it’s best basketball since 2020. That championship campaign featured the league’s most dominant duo in LBJ and AD, but it was the supporting cast which ultimately got the squad over the hump. KCP looked like poster boy of 3&D wings in the Finals. “Playoff Rondo” was in full effect, especially in the aforementioned Finals. Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso did a little bit of everything around the edges. Say what you want and think what you please about Danny Green, but he was a critical component of that run and that is simply a fact. Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee? Indispensable.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, none of those guys are around anymore to support the superstars. However, you could make the case that the other guys not named James/Doncic/Reaves are more equipped to provide backup to those guys than their ancestral supporting cast.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent have each played a significant part on D, and this team is damn near unbeatable when they are hitting their shots (DFS even said so himself). Jarred Vanderbilt is arguably the league’s greatest defensive irritant. Jaxson Hayes has been much better than anticipated since his promotion. That same sentiment rings true for Jordan Goodwin. Dalton Knecht has been in and out of the rotation as time has surpassed, but his head coach has publicly declared his confidence in the rookie to contribute come playoff time. We have yet to see what Maxi Kleber looks like in a live Laker uniform, but he should be the unquestioned backup big man should he return soon.
Those are 7x non-stars who are all capable of swinging the momentum of an entire game on their own, and we have not even mentioned the team’s most quintessential “role player”.
It took him a little while to establish a groove in the purple and gold after coming over midseason from Washington, but Rui Hachimura officially became a LAKER Laker from the opening tipoff of the 2023 playoffs. It took him a single game in the opening series to cement himself as a pillar for the future foundation of the NBA’s most polarizing franchise. He further backed that billing by genuinely bothering 3x MVP Nikola Jokic during that ensuing Western Conference Finals. While LeBron and AD were leading the way and Austin Reaves was officially initiating his progressive ascension towards stardom, it was Hachimura whom served as the most integral ingredient within that year’s postseason recipe for success.
Flash forward a year from his uprising, and his unraveling in last postseason’s sequel series with Denver had a lot to do with LA losing in sweep form yet again. The typically steady Samurai swingman seemed out of sorts and off rhythm throughout the course of that entire series, seemingly invisible at times (7.8 PPG | 3.8 RPG | 39.5% FG | 35.7% 3FG | 50.0% FT) while averaging 30 minutes a night.
Despite being sidelined with injury setbacks (a recurring theme in his young career) for 22x games in 2024-2025 regular SZN action, the combo forward has put together a spectacularly efficient chapter#6 in his NBA career: 31.7 MPG | 13.1 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 1.4 APG vs 0.8 TOPG | 0.8 SPG | 0.4 BPG | 50.9% FG | 41.3% 3FG (24th best in the NBA after his 42.2% 3FG ranked 12th in the league last SZN) | 77.0% FT. If those numbers are not enough to peak your impression, than his inflated averages thus far in 4x April games should be: 33.8 MPG | 16.5 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 1.8 APG vs 0.8 TOPG | 0.3 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 55.8% FG | 42.9% 3FG | 81.8% FT.
You remember that previous note about how the Lakers are damn near unbeatable when Finney-Smith and Vincent are hitting shots? Well if those guys are knocking down jumpers AND Hachimura (who has proven more than capable of canning perimeter shots consistently) is simultaneously making his presence felt defensively than nobody is hanging with the Lakers come playoff time.
Among this crew’s collection of versatile x big forwards (James, Doncic, Hachimura, Finney-Smith, Vanderbilt, Knecht), Rui stands above the rest when it comes to matchup malleability on the less glamorous end. Vando yields the most praise when it comes to pestering such a wide range of offensive options (most notably quicker guards + finesse forwards), but Hachimura can (slightly less) effectively hold his own against those same matchups while also (much more) effectively contain bulkier big bodies of The Joker’s make and mold.
LeBron’s 4x title rings speak for themselves. Luka Doncic has been an ELITE playoff leader through his first 6x NBA seasons, guiding the Mavericks to 2x WCF trips + 1x NBA Finals appearance *last season*. AR-15 has never backed down from the added pressure which accompanies perennial postseason play.
If the opposition fears that trio, there are nightmares headed their direction should we see 2023 playoffs Rui re-discover himself in the weeks to come.
頑張れ、ルイ！