Wizards that Dominated the NBA Summer League – Rui Hachimura, 2019-20
Unlike Beal, Rui Hachimura didn’t play in every game during his summer league standout performance. In fact, Hachimura only played three games over the summer of 2019. Notably, the Wizards only had a total of four games, not five like in years prior.
Still, Hachimura had fans excited about what he would do once the year began in those three short games. He averaged 19.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc.
Although some jumped the gun and had wild comparisons for the youngster after the performance, many remained level-headed and understood it was a sign of him being capable of being an impact player, not necessarily growing into the next face of the NBA.
He also grabbed a total of 21 rebounds in the three-game stretch, giving him an average of 7 per game that summer. Between the scoring prowess showed and commitment to hitting the glass early and often, Rui outpaced most people’s expectations that summer.
In his final season in college, he averaged just 6.5 rebounds per game, so showing a commitment to the glass while also scoring efficiently was a huge win in the early days of his NBA career.
It’s still too early to say exactly what he is in the league, but we can say with certainty he has a role and can play a key role on a winning team. Injuries and unfortunate circumstances have caused him to see a little less game action than fans would prefer, which makes the upcoming season crucial in his long-term outlook.
The upside remains and fans should still be excited about the next step he will take on the court. It wasn’t too long ago his dominant summer league performance had fans getting out of their seats.