Bradley Beal sees why Rui Hachimura is compared to Kawhi
TOKYO (Japan) - High expectations were placed on Hachimura in his first season such as comparisons to superstar Kawhi Leonard, but his play has turned doubters like teammate Bradley Beal into believers.
TOKYO (Japan) - High expectations were set for Japan's Rui Hachimura in his first season playing in the NBA. Such expectations come with being the first player from Japan to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. Aside from fans in Japan looking forward to seeing their star player shine in the NBA, the team that drafted themselves hoped for great things to come from the rising prospect.
"I had pretty high expectations of Rui because I'm real familiar with the player, and the character of the kid and the competitiveness of the kid," said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard on the "Full Court Press" podcast.
Even with those lofty expectations set, Hachimura had a successful rookie season playing for the Wizards, which has everyone looking forward to the next one. The 22-year-old has started all 41 games this season while averaging 13.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
"He did exceed [those expectations] as a rookie to come in and get the starting job from Day 1, and then he produced the way he was producing," Sheppard added.
Rui Hachimura may not see the court again in his coronavirus-interrupted rookie season, but the play of Japan's great basketball hope has already proven to his most well-credentialed teammate that his future is brighthttps://t.co/EfZBa5B1qr
— Kyodo News Sports (@kyodo_sports_en) April 12, 2020
Hachimura impressed many throughout his rookie NBA season, among those included 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship MVP and Gold Medalist and Wizards teammate Bradley Beal.
"I love Rui. His ceiling is so high," Beal complimented Hachimura on ESPN's "The Lowe Post" podcast.
Though Beal was not initially sold on Hachimura's potential, he turned around and changed his mind after sharing the court with the rookie for this past season.
"It was funny because when everyone was making the Kawhi [Leonard] comparisons on draft night, people laughed. I even laughed because Kawhi is a damn superstar, and Rui played the four," said Beal, referring to former NBA Champion Chauncey Billups comparison of Hachimura to Leonard on draft night.
"[But] when we got him, when I saw him in the summer he was dribbling, putting the ball on the floor, bringing the ball up the floor, palming it with one hand, I could see why they were making comparisons to Kawhi."
The Rui-Kawhi comparisons might not be exactly spot on right now, but what's undeniable is that Hachimura has plenty of potential left to be unearthed. It's also undeniable that Bradley Beal is a big fan of his Japanese teammate.
"He's not Kawhi, but he plays like him. He has a high ceiling. He's not really a four. We can really make him into a three. We can make him into a playmaker. He can post up smaller guys. He can guard bigger guys. He's very versatile in a lot of ways."
"I love him. He's a workhorse. I don't know who he's really comparable to because his ceiling's that high."
Rui Hachimura has continuously raised the level of his ceiling ever since playing in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship back in 2013 up to his recent appearance at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 for the Akatsuki Five. If he keeps this up, the sky (or maybe even beyond) seems to be the limit for how far Hachimura can rise the ranks as one of the best in the world.
FIBA