Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura (八村 塁, Hachimura Rui, born February 8, 1998) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is a member of the Japanese national team. Listed at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 230 lbs (104 kg),[1] he plays both the small forward and power forward positions.[2] After being selected ninth overall by the Wizards in the 2019 NBA draft, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2020.

In this Japanese name, the surname is Hachimura.
Rui Hachimura
Hachimura with the Washington Wizards in 2019
No. 8 – Washington Wizards
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-02-08) February 8, 1998
Toyama, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolMeisei (Sendai, Japan)
CollegeGonzaga (2016–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentWashington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Japan
FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship
2013 Iran Japan

Born in Toyama Prefecture, Hachimura achieved success at the youth level in Japan, leading Meisei High School to three straight All-Japan High School Tournament titles and being a top player for the Japanese under-17 and under-19 national teams in FIBA competition. He joined Gonzaga in 2016 as the fifth Japanese-born men's NCAA Division I player and in 2017 became the first Japanese national to play in the NCAA Division I men's tournament. As a sophomore, he earned first-team All-WCC honors. He was named a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year.[3]

Early life and career
Hachimura with Meisei High School in 2016

Hachimura was born in Toyama Prefecture in Japan to a Japanese mother Makiko (麻紀子) and Beninese father, Zakari Jabil. His given name, Rui (塁), means "base" or "fortress" in Japanese; the name was given to him by his grandfather because he was a big fan of baseball (the character 塁 is also used for "base" in context of baseball). He has three younger siblings, one brother, and two sisters. Hachimura's younger brother, Allen (阿蓮, Aren), is a basketball player at Tokai University in Japan.[4][5] In his childhood, he played baseball as a catcher and pitcher.[6] On December 29, 2013, Hachimura led the Meisei High School basketball team to its second title in the All-Japan High School Tournament, scoring 32 points in a 92–78 win over Fukuoka University Ohori.[6] In 2014, he helped his team win the tournament for a second straight year.[7] In April 2015, Hachimura was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic, where he recorded nine points and five rebounds in the International Game.[8][9] On November 21, 2015, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Gonzaga Bulldogs in the U.S., being considered by ESPN as one of the best international players entering college.[10][11] On December 29, 2015, Hachimura posted 34 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks to guide Meisei past Tsuchiura Nihon University High School for his third All-Japan Tournament victory.[12]

Despite signing with Gonzaga in the early signing period for 2016, Hachimura had his eligibility to play college basketball called into question.[13] The concerns were that he needed to acclimate better culturally and linguistically to the U.S. and would potentially need to attend a prep school before entering Gonzaga or redshirting if eligible.[14] In February 2016, Hachimura claimed to understand 80 percent of English but speak only 30-40 percent of it.[15] By April 2016, Hachimura was still working toward passing the SAT to gain entrance to college.[16][17] In May 2016, Hachimura announced that he met the SAT and GPA requirements to be eligible to play at Gonzaga beginning as early as fall 2016. He planned to play as a true freshman and did not redshirt his first year.[18]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Rui Hachimura
SF/PF		 Toyama, Japan Meisei 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 20, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  247Sports: #136  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2016 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.

College career

Hachimura made his regular season debut for the Gonzaga Bulldogs on November 11, 2016,[19] against Utah Valley, recording one point and three rebounds in four minutes.[20] As a result, he became the fifth Japanese-born player to ever play NCAA Division I basketball.[21] On December 1, he scored a season-high 10 points in 13 minutes in a 97–63 win over Mississippi Valley State.[22] Hachimura scored eight points on February 23, 2017, against San Diego, helping his team win the West Coast Conference (WCC) title.[23][24] On March 16, 2017, after playing one minute against South Dakota State, he became the first Japanese native to ever appear in the NCAA Division I men's tournament.[25] Through 28 games as a freshman, Hachimura averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field in 4.6 minutes per game.[26]

In the 2017–18 campaign, Hachimura appeared in 37 games for Gonzaga, including two starts, averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.[27]

Coming into his junior season, Hachimura was named to the Preseason All-WCC Team.[28] He opened the regular season on November 6, 2018 by scoring 33 points in a 120–79 win over Idaho State.[29] On November 21, 2018, Hachimura recorded 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists to help upset No. 1-ranked Duke in the Maui Invitational finals.[30] Subsequently, he was named most valuable player of the tournament.[31] Hachimura was selected the 2019 WCC Player of the Year.[32] He led Gonzaga in scoring (19.7 points per game) during the 2018-19 season and also averaged 6.5 rebounds a contest.[33]

Professional career

Washington Wizards (2019–present)
In 2020 with Yuta Watanabe of the Toronto Raptors

On April 15, 2019, Hachimura announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA draft,[34] 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, and also the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round.[35] 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.[36] On December 1, 2019, Hachimura scored a career-high thirty points in a 125–150 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers along with nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.[37]

In December that year, he and Yuta Watanabe of the Memphis Grizzlies became the first pair of Japanese players to face each other in the NBA.[38]

Hachimura suffered a groin injury against the Detroit Pistons on December 16 and had surgery and missed several games.[39] On September 15, 2020, Hachimura was named to the second-team NBA All-Rookie Team.[40]

National team career
Hachimura after a 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification game with Japan

Hachimura represents Japan internationally. At the 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Iran, he averaged 22.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks through eight contests,[41] guiding his team to a third-place finish.[42] In April 2014, he played the Albert-Schweitzer-Tournament in Germany with Japan's under 18 national team,[43][44] finishing in last place.[45]

Japan finished the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships 14th of 16 teams, with Hachimura scoring a tournament-high 22.6 points per game, while pulling down 6.6 rebounds and blocking 1.7 shots per contest.[46] During the tournament, he scored 25 points on the USA team that went on to win the title; that team included four players who were chosen in the 2017 NBA draft—Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, Caleb Swanigan, and Ivan Rabb—plus other future college stars such as Diamond Stone and Malik Newman.[47][25]

He competed for Japan in the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging team-bests 20.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a contest.[48] In a qualification round for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Hachimura scored 25 points to help Japan defeat Iran 70-56.[49]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Gonzaga 2804.6.528.286.5421.4.1.2.12.6
2017–18 Gonzaga 37220.7.568.192.7954.7.6.5.511.6
2018–19 Gonzaga 373730.2.591.417.7396.51.5.9.719.7
Career 1023919.7.579.316.7464.4.8.6.512.1

NBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Washington 484830.1.466.287.8296.11.8.8.213.5
Career 484830.1.466.287.8296.11.8.8.213.5

FIBA Senior Team Events Stats
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017 Asian World Cup Qualifier Japan 4430.2.576.286.7626.01.21.81.021.5

William Jones Cup
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015 Japan 606.333.000.000.2.0.0.01.8

See also

References
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  2. "Rui Hachimura". Gonzaga University Athletics. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  3. Woodburn, Peter. "Rui Hachimura named Naismith Player of the Year finalist". The Slipper Still Fits. SB Nation. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. "Rui Hachimura's profile". FIBA. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  5. Mandel, Stewart (March 30, 2017). "Japan will be watching the Final Four just to see this guy you probably don't know". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  6. Nagatsuka, Kaz (December 29, 2013). "Hachimura powers Meisei High to Winter Cup title". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. Nagatsuka, Kaz (December 25, 2015). "Hachimura guides Meisei High to impressive victory in Winter Cup opener". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  8. Nagatsuka, Kaz (June 22, 2015). "Future looking bright for Japanese men's basketball". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  9. "Jordan Brand Classic Box Score International Game" (PDF). Jordan Brand Classic. April 17, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  10. Borzello, Jeff (January 31, 2015). "The next wave of international prospects". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  11. "MBB Signs Hachimura to National Letter of Intent". Gonzaga University Athletics. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
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  14. "Next international wave will set up Zags for a while, says GU's Lloyd". heinnews. December 9, 2015. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
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