 The story of Rui Hachimura's entrance to the NBA has been a fascinating one. Hachimura has attracted an incredible amount of attention from both the national and international media, obviously for a reason, and him being from Japan makes this even more special. Being from Japan, but also being mixed race, is something that you simply don't see a lot of in Japan. Rui Hachimura, and I quote, once tried to hide from the world due to the discrimination he faced as a child in Japan just for being mixed race. So this is the crazy story of Rui Hachimura, and this is my thoughts on his potential in the league and how I think he will fare in the league. I'm also going to talk about the Yanis comparison, but we're going to talk a little bit about some other comparisons I think Rui is a little bit more similar to. With that said, I hope you guys enjoy the video, and it would be amazing if we could reach over a thousand likes for the next video. That would really support me and the channel, and now that the NBA season is up and running, we're going to be making a lot of videos, so get ready. In college, Rui Hachimura averaged almost 20 points per game. He's a very talented player who can do a lot of different things on the court. He's already an endorsement deal that has been signed because of the excitement over starting his NBA career in the United States, but obviously in Japan they are also very excited because he is an amazing talent, and is from Japan, which there's only been three players from Japan that have made the NBA, and Rui Hachimura is the first player to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft from Japan. He won the Julius Irving award as the top small forward in the country, and he definitely has a lot of potential. College basketball watched Rui Hachimura as the star player for the number one Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga saw Rui as their star player who led them to their national title hopes. They saw him record 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists to help upset the number one ranked team, Duke. They beat Zion, RJ, and Cam Reddish, and this was in the Maui Invitational Finals. Rui took home the most valuable player in that tournament, and he became a top ten prospect in the 2019 NBA draft who would ultimately get drafted ninth by the Washington Wizards, and in my opinion could have gone higher. Outside of Zahra Williamson, and now Tyler Hero as is a part of the Miami Heat, Rui might just be my favorite player in this draft class. Now he's a part of the Washington Wizards, and Wizards fans are hoping that he'll be a future All-Star potential, but in Japan, Hachimura is more than an All-Star potential. He is more than a draft pick. He is also an inspiration, but if you didn't know this was not always the case, and Rui actually pointed out at one point in his life, he tried to hide from the world. Well, maybe not the world, but more so the society in Toyama, Japan. As a kid, Rui Hachimura faced discrimination, just simply because he was mixed race and brown. He stood out in a country that is 98.5% Japanese. He said, exaggerating slightly, that his father was, in quotes, the only black guy in Japan, and his parents reminded him of racial incidents that he had growing up, including children telling him, you're black, go away. He also said, and I quote, I even tried to hide from the rest of the world. He told the newspaper of Inquirer. Hachimura has endured comments about his skin color or playing youth basketball too. There's a lot of discrimination, he said. It's not crazy, but I don't want them to feel bad for themselves. I want them to enjoy playing sports in Japan. Unfortunately, in Japan still, there are some biracial children still facing prejudice, as it's still quite a homogenous country. In America, he said, the people were more diverse. In Japan, people looked the same. In New York, people looked different. It was fun to be a little brat walking around the city of New York. It was new to me. I was anonymous. And it's important for athletes like Rui Hachimura and Naomi Osaka, the number one ranked women's tennis player, because these athletes have the influence to change the way that a society can operate. People fall in love with athletes like these two. And we've definitely seen it with Naomi Osaka, and I'm hoping it can also happen with Rui Hachimura. They have more than a role as just athletes. And although in Japan, attitudes are changing amongst younger generations, which is definitely a great thing, their rise as athletes may help also challenge Japan's acceptance of mixed race people, as ultimately truly Japanese. Now, in terms of Rui's basketball talent, Rui is talented. Hachimura, coming out of Gonzaga, was easily able to dominate games on his own, but he's definitely always been known as a team player. He plays within the team rules, and he plays for his coach. He doesn't try to dominate the game, and he doesn't really take many ill-advised shots. Hachimura is smart. He's talented, and he has an amazing work ethic. He came to the US not speaking any English, and to give you a quick understanding on how bad his English truly was, in Rui Hachimura's first season, he would often get asked to do something on the court, and he had no idea what his teammates were saying. He had no idea what the coach was saying, which obviously was the main reason why he got no minutes. Tell us about how Coach Fu has helped mold you into the player that you are today, and if you have a funny story, please feel free to tell it because he's on camera right now. There was one instance where during practice, Fu, who was the coach, often asked him to do something on the court, and Rui Hachimura would simply just smile as if he understood what he was saying, but they both knew that he didn't. There was one instance where Fu criticised Rui Hachimura and his teammates for a dumbass play. Hachimura grinned as he joked to the sideline. He thought Fu had complimented him by comparing him to Demontus Sabonis. I can kind of see it, I'm not going to lie, but it's a pretty funny story because Demontus Sabonis, who played at Gonzaga and was amazing at the program, was nicknamed Dommus. Dommus, Dommus, it's a pretty funny story. Rui Hachimura literally thought he was getting a compliment when he was being called a dumbass. That was just one instance showing Hachimura's lack of understanding of the English language, which really meant that he couldn't perform the way he wanted to because he couldn't get minutes simply because he didn't know the plays and he couldn't talk to his teammates. He worked religiously, taking lessons to learn English and he barely got any minutes when he first arrived to the US, and he kept gaining more and more skill each and every year. And as a late developer and somebody who started the game a little bit later, it's good to see him finally in the NBA because he can still develop even further in the NBA now that he's here. I see a lot of people comparing him to Yarnis on the fact that when Yarnis entered the league, he also was very raw, had a lot to improve on, but I see Rui as a different player. I think Rui is far more ahead of where Yarnis was when they first entered the league, but Yarnis has a lot higher of potential. The only thing that is similar about the two is that Rui Hachimura has been nicknamed a freak. Yarnis, obviously as we all know, is the Greek freak. Rui in Japan is known as the Japanese freak. But who I do see in Rui Hachimura is definitely a young Kawhi Leonard. Now, a lot of people look at Kawhi Leonard now and say, yeah, look, I don't really see it. But Kawhi Leonard when he first entered the league was a raw talent. He had a lot of offensive refinements he needed to make. His defense was definitely always there. He had such large hands that he had the nickname, the claw, even coming into the NBA. But in terms of the mid-range game and finding his spot, Kawhi Leonard had a lot to work on. And I feel like it's the same offensively for Rui Hachimura too. At 6 foot 9, Rui Hachimura is bigger than Kawhi Leonard. He's already quite strong. He has a great athletic profile and a polished offensive skill set that allows him to take advantage of numerous mismatches on the court. He can shoot over the smaller defender or run through them with his strong frame. He's smart enough to not draw offensive fouls, but he's big enough to move them in a post-up situation. He excels in using his body to create space for the mid-range shot, attacking the basket and banging down in the paint. Overall, he's just a really efficient two-point scorer. He was able to shoot 59% from the field. He has an excellent mid-range and just like Kawhi Leonard, speaking of, he's got a really good pull-up game. A really good finisher around the rim and he's a solid defender. Not like Kawhi Leonard who was a lead, but solid means he can definitely defend and he can improve with time. He also has a 7 foot 2 wingspan which is pretty good for a guy of his frame, which means that he definitely has the attributes to become a good defender. He was great at Gonzaga, but I think he'll be an even better pro in the league because as a late developer, he has the chance to take the league by storm in the next few seasons when his skills are refined. He does need to work on his three-point shot, but that is something that I can definitely see possible. He has an incredible work ethic, so as long as he's in the gym during every offseason, which it seems like he will, he could be something special in the league. So that is the story of Rui Hachimura, a little comparison that I have. I'm not saying he'll be Kawhi Leonard right now, but eventually Rui Hachimura has the potential on the offensive end, I believe to average around 25 points per game. He's definitely skilled and in his first opening games of the season, he's definitely shown that he's been able to hit the mid-range shot and find his spots on the floor. With that said, let me know what you think about Rui Hachimura, let me know what you think about the story of him in Japan, and hopefully Japan becomes a little bit more progressive, which I think it is with the younger generation, but for him to have faced discrimination simply because he was biracial, it's pretty unfortunate. So with Naomi Osaka and Rui Hachimura, hopefully it's a good thing for Japan. With that said, if you enjoyed the video, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could drop a like, subscribe to this channel if you're new for more NBA content, hit the notification button so you don't miss an upload, and follow me on Instagram. With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed the video, I am out, peace.