“With the ninth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select… Rui Hachimura from Gonzaga University.” These words spoken by Adam Silver and ones that will live on in the memory of many Wizards fans.
Rui Hachimura has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. A sentence we all knew was coming but very few of us wanted to see. Through the ups and downs, Hachimura was a Washington Wizard through and through since he was drafted back in 2019.
Worse yet, they only received Kendrick Nunn and a small handful of second round picks from the Lakers. Proving that Tommy Sheppard is not the greatest the world has ever seen at making trades.
Although he had his issues, mainly with consistency and availability, he was a key part of the rotation for the Wiz every year so far in his young career. His shooting and ability to draw defenders away from stars will be missed.
Even through Twitter rumors of Hachimura and Wes Unseld Jr not having the greatest of relationships, he still stayed professional and played his heart out every game this season.
Throughout his Wizards career, Rui Hachimura did some great things.
Through his career with the Wizards, he was a solid scorer, just lacking the consistency to make the breakout push we all know he was capable of. He’s shown flashes of playing like Danny Granger numerous times throughout his career.
For his career with the Wizards, he averaged 13 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists despite an ever-changing role within the offense. In a consistent role with a true playmaker like LeBron James passing him the ball, he could be in a prime position to have a breakout season next year.
His career high so far is 30 points, a benchmark that he has reached a few times but has never had the opportunity to break just yet. There is no doubt that he will break that benchmark on his new team.
In his rookie season he was a member of the second team All-Rookie. He was also in the Rising Stars game in both of his first two seasons. His talent was evident from the start.
Unfortunately, Hachimura has become another gear in the ever-running machine of chasing mediocrity that the Washington Wizards/Bullets have been running over the past 40 years.
Thank you, Rui Hachimura.