Lakers 2024-25 Player Grades: Rui Hachimura
Season In Review For Rui Hachimura
Entering his third season in Los Angeles, Rui Hachimura had become a somewhat permanent fixture with the team. Known for his big smiles and throwing up the ‘LA’ with his hands, Hachimura has become a fan favorite.
Rui Hachimura loves LA.
(via Taylor Geas’ article)#LakeShowThis is home for me,” Rui Hachimura said. “LA was my home before I got traded here. It’s a crazy story.”
Everyone still tells him, “Rui, this is crazy because you called this home.”
“I would make jokes about it,… pic.twitter.com/q0cqM43QEf— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) April 11, 2025
This season, he came in with clear expectations from new coach JJ Redick. He needed to hit threes and crash the glass.
He did very well in the first portion of that task. For the second straight season, Hachimura shot over 40% from three. He also moved into second all-time in three-point percentage in the playoffs (48.5%).
The second portion, he continued to struggle with. For an athletic 6’8 230 lb forward, five rebounds a game on 31 minutes a game is simply not good enough.
Rui Hachimura Player Grade: B+
Going into the season, there was an intense debate on whether or not Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt would get the starting nod. Although they have differing strengths, to Hachimura’s credit, he earned the starting role even once Vanderbilt returned.
He consistently found himself being a security blanket for the Lakers’ offense this season. Whenever the team would be in a drought, Hachimura would seem to find himself open for a corner three. He even showed up on the playoff stage this season, finishing the last two games of the series with 23 points in each.
Hachimura is not on the level of LeBron, Reaves, or Luka, but he is the best player on the team after those three. He has a clear talent ceiling, and unfortunately, isn’t even reaching the ceiling in a few key aspects.
This season, Hachimura continued to fall short in terms of his defense and rebounding. It was more acceptable when Anthony Davis was there to hide his inefficiencies, but once the trade for Doncic went through, they were put on full display.
For as good as his offense was this season, the rest of his game continued to struggle too much to grade him any higher than a B+.
Moving Forward
The future is not as certain for Hachimura as it may be for some of his teammates, as Los Angeles is in a strange middle ground.
The Lakers are clearly a good team, evidenced by their claiming of the 3rd seed in the West. The only issue is that they’re not on the same level as teams like OKC or Boston. Changes will have to be made, and with minimal assets, Hachimura could be on the chopping block.
His contract is not only reasonable, but it’s also expiring. With the Lakers looking to sign centers and defensively gifted players, don’t be surprised if Hachimura is wearing different colors next season.
