Lakers News: Playoff Breakout Rui Hachimura Revels In Year That Was

The restricted free agent couldn't have peaked at a better time.

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Rui Hachimura peaked at exactly the right time for his impending restricted free agency: the Western Conference playoffs.

The 6'8" big man out of Gonzaga, 25, showed flashes of intrigue during the regular season, but absolutely stepped up his game when it mattered most.

He improved his regular season averages with LA from 9.6 points on .485/.296/.721 shooting splits to 12.2 points on .487/.587/882 shooting splits, while his rebounding output actually declined from 4.7 boards to 3.6.

Following the conclusion of LA's season on Monday in a Game 4 Western Conference Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets, Hachimura spoke on Tuesday about his tenure in Los Angeles.

"One of the best moments ... I learned a lot of things from LeBron, AD, the coaches."

Rui Hachimura: End of Season Interview pic.twitter.com/QcnIV4ZfUp

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 23, 2023

“Crazy three months for me,” Hachimura reflected. “It was one of the best times of my life. Literally three months ago, four months ago I was in a different team in the East Coast [the Washington Wizards] and all of a sudden I’m here in LA, one of the biggest team in the NBA and making this crazy run. When I got here I think we’re not even gonna make the playoffs. We’re not a playoff team yet. And we got a lot of trades and then we start the winning the games. We get the seventh seed, right, and then we got to the Western Conference Finals."

“For me, it was one of the best moments and I think I had a good experience. I learned a lot of things from of course LeBron [James], [Anthony Davis], the coaches, [assistant coach] Phil [Handy]. It was just for me…I feel like I had two, three seasons this year and it was just great for me. I think it’s gonna be great for my career.”

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