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On Tuesday night, Rui Hachimura participated in a live Twitter Q&A presented by NEC and hosted by Wizards digital correspondent Zac Ikuma that included both English and Japanese portions. Hachimura answered questions from fans all over the world for over 30 minutes, touching on his methods of staying in shape away from the basketball court, the biggest challenges of his rookie season so far, what he wants to improve in year two, Bradley Beal as a leader, the hardest player he had to guard all season and more. Below are three takeaways from Hachimura’s Q&A.
Where he’s improved the most this season
Hachimura said he’s spent time during the NBA’s hiatus working through film of the season so far and has been able to pinpoint areas of his game he wants to continue to work on, like free throw and 3-point shooting, but says he’s also seen a ton of development in his game.
“I improved a lot of things,” Hachimura said. “Especially ball-handling and spacing. I remember I used to say, ‘the spacing is so different.’ At the beginning of the season, I felt a little bit awkward and it felt different, but now I’m used to it and really more comfortable…playing with these guys, my teammates, is really fun. We have more chemistry now.”
He noted how different the court looked to him later in the season compared to his first few games of his career and that the improvement is just a matter of reps, watching film and playing time.
Locker room leadership
When asked who has been the best mentor for him this season, Hachimura said there was one name that stood out among the group.
“There’s a lot, but obviously Brad (Beal) is a guy I’m always looking at,” Hachimura said. “I talk to him about basketball and off the court, everything. He’s a great leader of the team. I think it’s good to see, even at practice, I can watch him and how hard he works…He’s not much of a talking guy. He shows. Whatever he’s doing, I can see…He’s the guy I always look at.”
Hachimura’s earliest basketball inspiration
Hachimura said that the first inspiration he had when he first got into basketball was Carmelo Anthony and that he always made sure to focus on his footwork and ability to get a shot up from anywhere.
“I watched a lot of Carmelo Anthony,” Hachimura said. “He was my guy when I started playing basketball. I watched his footsteps and his pull-up shot. That why I think I have a pull-up now, because I watched him a lot. He’s obviously a big guy, 6’8” and a power forward or small forward. I watched him a lot when I was a kid…He was one of the (hardest players to guard all season).”