Rui Hachimura, Los Angeles Lakers agree to 3-year, $51 million contract

The former Gonzaga All-American will reportedly sign a lucrative free agent contract

Rui Hachimura will be back in the purple and gold next season, as the former Gonzaga men's basketball star reportedly agreed to a three-year, $51 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

The Lakers extended a $7.7 million qualifying to Hachimura for the 2023-24 season, making him a restricted free agent this offseason with the option for the Lakers to match any offer sheet. 

All signs pointed to the Lakers wanting to retain Hachimura, who was acquired from the Washington Wizards in January for Kendrick Nuns and three second-round draft picks.

In 33 regular season games with Los Angeles, Hachimura averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds to help his new team make a playoff push after sitting 12th in the Western Conference at the time of the trade. The 6-foot-8 wing started in nine of those games.

Hachimura upped his game in the playoffs, averaging 12.2 points and shooting 48.7% from beyond the arc. In his first playoff game as a Laker, he set a franchise record with 29 points off the bench, including five 3-pointers, in a Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Now, it's about finding consistency — Hachimura had a 74.4% effective field-goal rate in the playoffs per NBA.com, compared to 48.3% in the regular season.

Prior to the NBA, Hachimura was a consensus All-American and West Coast Conference Player of the Year award recipient at Gonzaga. He averaged 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 2018-19. He shot 59.1% from the field, second-best in the WCC.

Photo by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

Hachimura was taken ninth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. He's averaged 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in four seasons in the NBA, while shooting 48% from the field.