DALLAS – Rui Hachimura understands the job.
As he studied the postgame catering Saturday in Dallas, Hachimura didn’t hesitate to answer what could be one of the most pressing questions facing the Lakers and the coaching staff.
With Austin Reaves set to return from a calf injury as soon as this week, Lakers coach JJ Redick will be faced with the decision whether or not to return Hachimura to the starting lineup. And if the Lakers decided they’d fare better with more defensive-minded players like Jake LaRavia or Marcus Smart with the first five, wouldn’t they risk losing Hachimura’s buy-in as he heads towards unrestricted free agency?
Maybe a few years ago, the Lakers forward would’ve felt differently. But now? He laughed when he was asked if he was willing to remain in the second unit.
“A lot of people think about stats and all that, but for me it’s like winning. That’s gonna help us to everybody get paid,” Hachimura told The Athletic. “… And especially with this second unit, I get more touches too. … I don’t mind. It’s more so like, who’s finishing the game? Or who’s playing more? For me, that’s more important.”
This wasn’t faux-amiability – this was a player fully comfortable in his skin and his station on this basketball team. And this was a player who’d just gotten another chance to show why he’s a long-term fit for what the Lakers are building.
“He’s easy” JJ Redick said of Hachimura. “He comes in. He gets his work in. He bangs shots.”
Redick said he’s not ready to make any full decisions about his starting five – Saturday was the first game Hachimura played without a minutes restriction since he came back from a calf injury on Jan. 13. His seven-game stint coming off the bench marks his longest stretch in a reserve role since early in the 2023-24 season, before he became a starter.
On Saturday against the Mavericks, Hachimura hit back-to-back 3s (including one where he was fouled and made a free throw), the game’s two biggest shots. And like he did earlier this season in Toronto, he stepped up and made the jumpers despite not being a major part of the offense.
In the build-up to those shots, Hachimura mostly stood and waited on offense, his hands up anticipating passes that don’t always come. But Hachimura’s gotten better at finding other ways to still feel the game. Against the Mavericks, he blocked a shot, corralled multiple loose balls and grabbed rebounds in the fourth – all before he hit his first 3 in the quarter.
“It’s funny. I think I got used to it. It’s four years here, and [the] first three years I was, I didn’t know what to do,” Hachimura said. “If I didn’t touch the ball for like whole quarter, like, it’s done for me. I can’t do anything for the game, but now I’m used to it. I think it’s more so the mental. When I had that always I used to think ‘Oh f—. Like I couldn’t shoot. I didn’t touch the ball.’ But now, I’m trying to think ‘OK, what I can do to help to win this game? Rebound, box out, help defense. Those are little movements that’s gonna keep me into the game. So then, when I get to the ball, I’m still in rhythm.”
The ability to play without the ball is a must in a star-driven offense. It’s one, if not the single biggest, reason Hachimura is so valuable to the Lakers as the team heads into the trade deadline in early February.
His evolution as a role player has been a slow burn since the Lakers acquired him for a package of second-round picks at the trade deadline in 2023. He credited former Lakers assistant Phil Handy for helping him bend his game around the Lakers’ stars: first LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and now, around James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
Hachimura is on his way to his third-straight season with the Lakers where he’s made at least 40 percent of his 3s. He’s a “laser,” per his coach, and is a top-15 shooter from deep this season.
“I like my role here,” he said. “The things that I like to do, I’m doing here. I just gotta embrace doing whatever it takes to win for the team.”
