Austin Reaves couldn’t resist a little humor when Rui Hachimura came up at Lakers practice on Tuesday.
With Hachimura set to face Los Angeles for the first time since leaving in free agency, Reaves was asked about his former teammate and had nothing but praise - before slipping in a joke that landed perfectly.
“He’s an unbelievable human,” Reaves said, via The Sporting Tribune. “I didn’t know if he spoke English for the first two weeks.
I sat by him on the plane. He didn’t speak to me, and then after that I couldn’t get him to shut up.
So, great guy, great player, and I miss him.”
Hachimura, who is from Japan, took a little time to open up after joining the Lakers, at least from Reaves’ point of view. By the end of his run in Los Angeles, though, there was no mystery left about his communication.
The timing of the remark fits, too. Reaves and the Lakers open their 2026-27 season against the Golden State Warriors and then the Los Angeles Clippers, and that second game brings Hachimura back into the picture for the first time since he left.
Los Angeles brought Hachimura in from the Washington Wizards in January 2023, sending Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks the other way. At the time, the move didn’t exactly ignite the fan base. Hachimura had been steady enough in Washington after the Wizards made him the No. 9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but not much more.
He needed some runway with the Lakers, too. After a slow start, Hachimura settled in, earned a starting role and became a dependable piece of the rotation. The biggest calling card came from deep: he shot better than 40.0% from three in each of his three full seasons with the team.
His final year in purple and gold was a strong one. In 2025-26, Hachimura averaged 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks while hitting 44.3% of his threes. That season also marked the end of the three-year, $51 million contract he signed with the Lakers in 2023.
He wasn’t the only familiar name to reach free agency in 2026. Reaves, an undrafted guard who arrived in 2021, was expected to turn down his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 as well. Instead, the Lakers locked him up early, agreeing to a four-year, $180 million deal before he could test the market.
That contract was the lone major retention move for Los Angeles. Everyone else was allowed to walk.
Hachimura was told the Lakers wouldn’t be bringing him back, but he still stayed in the city, landing with the Clippers on a two-year, $28 million deal that includes a $14 million team option for 2027-28. The Clippers wanted a sign-and-trade, but the Lakers did not cooperate.
Now Hachimura enters Friday’s matchup with plenty of momentum. He averaged 17.0 points per game in preseason while shooting 51.6% from the field and 61.5% from three, and that kind of efficiency could make him a problem immediately. The Lakers know exactly what he can do when he gets clean looks.
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