Rui Hachimura has been talking about his Lakers run with a little more force lately, and Friday’s meeting with Los Angeles only added a fresh layer to the conversation. Now with the Clippers, Hachimura faced his former team and used the moment to push back on the idea that he had just one strong season in purple and gold.
In his interview with ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly, Hachimura made it clear he believes the broader picture of his Lakers tenure gets flattened too easily.
“They think that [only] one season, I was good, but I keep doing it,” Hachimura said. “I consistently - like three years in a row - was shooting 45 percent on threes and 50 or 60 percent from mid-range, and I was always top five in shooting for three years.
It’s, of course, because of the team and how we operated. We had LeBron [James], [Anthony Davis], Luka [Doncic].”
That run with the Lakers started after Los Angeles got him from Washington in January 2023 in a deal that sent Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to the Wizards. His first stretch in the new uniform was uneven: he averaged 9.6 points per game in 2022-23 and shot 29.6% from three, a rough landing that looked more like an adjustment period than a verdict on his game.
The bigger sample told a different story. In each of his three full seasons with the Lakers, Hachimura shot better than 40.0% from beyond the arc. He became one of the team’s steadiest perimeter threats, and the numbers back up his point that the “one good season” label doesn’t fit.
Over his Lakers career, the No. 9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft averaged 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. Plenty of role players get buried by the pressure that comes with that uniform, but Hachimura held up.
He also didn’t pretend the job was easy.
“But also, it’s tough to play for the Lakers,” Hachimura said. “It’s a big crowd, big shine.
The lights are brighter. The thing I always say is that I’ve always had that, but it’s just what the team’s situation is.
I have to adjust. I can fit in, to any type of team, but I think that’s the one thing that people always talk about.
I have more than that to my game, yes, but I always play for the team wherever I’m at, so whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do.”
That challenge was part of the backdrop from the start. When Hachimura arrived in 2023, the Lakers were LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ team. Then came the next major shake-up, with Luka Doncic arriving for Davis in February 2025, while Austin Reaves moved from feel-good story to borderline star.
With so many high-usage names around him, Hachimura’s role could shrink in a hurry. Last season, he said the lack of touches got to him, and he even called out teammates for being selfish at one point.
“I feel like the people around me know,” Hachimura said. “They always say that they’re always watching me.
Even last year, when those three guys played, Austin, LeBron, Luka, it’s tough to get the ball, but when one guy or two guys are out, I always show up. I was the number one scorer too, so I always showed up, whatever they need.
I always proved that I’m always ready to be in that position.”
He showed that again in the 2026 playoffs, when he put up 17.5 points per game and shot 54.9% from the field for the Lakers. Doncic missed the entire run because of injury, and Reaves missed part of it, opening the door for Hachimura to step into a bigger offensive role.
That postseason helped cement him as a fan favorite, but it also became the last chapter of his Lakers stay. The team reportedly didn’t want him back, and Hachimura moved on in free agency, signing a two-year, $28 million deal with the Clippers.
The Clippers opened the season with a win over the Sacramento Kings, but their first loss came against the Lakers. On Friday at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers beat the Clippers 125-117.
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