Rui Hachimura had a solid performance in his first NBA regular-season game. But how did he stack up against some of the other rookies?
The Washington Wizards dropped the season opener to the Dallas Mavericks 108-100 despite a late comeback attempt at the end.
Despite Bradley Beal, Luka Doncic, and Kristaps Porzingis all being on the court, Wizards fans had their eyes glued on Rui Hachimura. Hachimura, who the Wizards drafted number nine overall, is expected to be a focal part of the team moving forward. With face-of-the-franchise John Wall out for the season with an Achilles injury, it is all but certain this will be a long season for the Wizards.
The season will be spent on the development of the young core made up of Troy Brown Jr. Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, Admiral Schofield, and Moritz Wagner. While most of the team struggled, Hachimura impressed in the season opener.
The rookie recorded the first double-double of his career as he scored 14 points and grabbed ten rebounds in only 24 minutes. Hachimura excelled at scoring from close range but will need to work on three-point shooting to add another element to his game. Hachimura isn’t known for his sharpshooting, but was seen working on it over the summer and during the preseason. Unfortunately, he went 0-3 from deep. If he can add range to his game, then Hachimura will become the stretch four the Wizards have been missing.
Hachimura flourished on the boards as he recorded ten rebounds, which led to six second-chance points. This will go a long way, as the Wizards were awful at rebounding last season.
As Hachimura showed off against the Mavericks, other rookies throughout the league played their first NBA minutes. Here’s how Hachimura’s debuts compared to the rest of his draft class.