Two former teammates sized each other up. Luka Doncic waved off the screen. He wanted the matchup with Rui Hachimura. The crowd at Crypto.com Arena buzzed in anticipation.
Doncic smiled wide.
After four years in which he became a staple in the Lakers’ lineup, Hachimura returned to face his former team for the first time as a Clipper on Friday at Crypto.com Arena. The forward got a warm greeting from the fans, who welcomed him in the starting lineup with a loud roar. The Lakers played a video tribute during the first timeout to honor Hachimura’s four years with the franchise.
But as he started piling up his 16 points in the Lakers’ 125-117 win over their crosstown rival, the crowd started to turn on the sharp-shooting Hachimura.
“Traitor!” one fan yelled when he hit a shot during a tight first half before the Lakers pulled away by outscoring the Clippers 39-26 in the third quarter.
Hachimura, who left the Lakers in free agency, made his love for the team clear. He signed a relatively conservative two-year, $28-million deal with the Clippers, turning down other offers in part because he wanted to stay in L.A.
“It was amazing,” Hachimura said of his time with the Lakers. “I had a great time with them. The organization, yeah, of course I miss them, but it was time to move on. It was special, my four years, four seasons with them. I’m happy with the Clippers right now, and I gotta keep growing my career.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said playing the first game back in an old arena can be disorienting. He experienced it after leaving the Lakers, who drafted him in 1998, and returning with the Washington Wizards in 2002. He had never seen the other locker room in his former home arena.
“Just being on the other side, the other bench, in the other locker room, it was just really weird,” Lue said. “And then playing against guys that kind of taught you the game, kind of molded you as a player, and just sitting across from it, it was really weird for me.”
Hachimura jokingly walked toward the Lakers locker room before the game. Before beginning his pregame shooting routine, Hachimura hugged Lakers assistant Beau Levesque, who was Hachimura’s player development coach, and Lakers guard Austin Reaves, one of his closest friends.
When Hachimura was traded to the Lakers in January 2023, Reaves was in his second season with the Lakers. While they became close, Reaves initially spent weeks thinking Hachimura didn’t speak English.
“I’d sit by him on the plane and he didn’t speak to me,” Reaves said this week. “After that, I couldn’t get him to shut up. Great guy, great player and I miss him.”
Hachimura developed into one of the Lakers’ most dependable shooters. A 35.6% three-point shooter while with Washington, where he was drafted ninth overall in 2019, Hachimura shot 44.3% from three during his last season with the Lakers. Lakers coach JJ Redick marveled at Hachimura’s reliable mid-range game that he once compared to “prime Michael Jordan.”
During the playoffs, when the injury-riddled Lakers stunned the Houston Rockets in the first round before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, Hachimura shot a sizzling 56.9% (15 for 31) from three. His career 51.6% postseason three-point shooting percentage is the highest in NBA history.
Hachimura filled a supporting role with the Lakers, where he was overshadowed by Reaves, Doncic and LeBron James. But with the Clippers, he has a leading opportunity. Hachimura had the second-most shot attempts among Clippers players Friday, going five for 14 from the field and three for six from three.
Facing different defenses than he saw while being the Lakers’ fourth offensive option, Hachimura’s efficiency has dipped. He is shooting 29.6% from the field and 38.5% from three while averaging 13 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers (0-2).
“I think understanding some of the actions we’re trying to run from him, like being quicker, being faster, not allowing guys to get back to his body so he can come off open, and just timing things,” Lue said of how Hachimura can adjust to being a focal point of an opposing team’s scouting report. “Little timing things here and there. We know when it’s post up, teams are doubling. So he has to find a way in transition, playing faster, attacking early, attacking faster in transition, but we’ll get him shots.”
During pregame warmups, Doncic sprinted out of the Lakers tunnel and straight to Hachimura, who was warming up in the corner. Doncic wrapped his former teammate in a hug. They laughed and joked all the way to midcourt before Hachimura resumed his shooting.
When the game started, Hachimura hit his first three over Doncic, who was late to close out. The Lakers star waved his hand in mock disgust toward Hachimura.
“I don’t like Rui,” Doncic said after the game.
A wide smile spread across his face.
“Nah, it was just great to see him. He’s my guy.”
The post ‘I miss him.’ Lakers reunite with Rui Hachimura in first game against Clippers appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
