It's Showtime: Rui Hachimura makes solid debut for Lakers in win over Spurs

In his first game for Los Angeles since being traded from the Washington Wizards, the Japanese NBA star comes off the bench to net 12 points and grabs six rebounds to help his new team to a 113-104 victory over San Antonio.

2 minBy Shintaro Kano
2023-01-26T045109Z_1641238333_MT1USATODAY19860306_RTRMADP_3_NBA-SAN-ANTONIO-SPURS-AT-LOS-ANGELES-LAKERS

(USA TODAY Sports)

Rui Hachimura opened a new chapter to his NBA career on Wednesday (25 January) when the hope of Japanese basketball made his Los Angeles Lakers debut in a 113-104 win against the San Antonio Spurs.

Hachimura finished with 12 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. He had the best plus-minus of the game at +17.

The hype and anticipation in Japan of Hachimura's Laker debut and playing with LeBron James was such that it crashed the NBA streaming service in the country.

Hachimura, traded to the Lakers from the Washington Wizards on Monday, got in the game with 4:22 left in the first quarter for Thomas Bryant.

Around a minute later, Hachimura scored his first points in purple and gold from the charity stripe, knocking down two free throws. He got his first proper bucket in the second quarter, a pull-up jumper from mid range.

The Lakers are hoping that Hachimura, one of Japan's faces at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, will give them a much-needed lift for the second half of the season. They currently are 13th in the Western Conference, one game out of the play-in tournament.

Hachimura, who turns 25 next month, was averaging 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 24.3 minutes with the Wizards in his fourth NBA season. He was picked ninth overall in the 2019 draft out of Gonzaga University.

Hachimura is expected to lead his country at the 25 August-10 September FIBA World Cup being co-hosted by Japan, Philippines and Indonesia.

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