Cutoff/status: 2026-07-18; officially signed LAC forward, age 28, on a reported two-year, $28 million deal. NBA signing report, updated 2026-07-07 · Los Angeles Clippers
Baseline and 2026-27 projection
Hachimura played 68 games at 28.3 MPG for the Lakers, averaging 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.3 blocks and 1.7 threes on .514/.694 shooting. His 44.3% from three is the fit driver, but it should regress rather than be copied forward. ESPN statistics
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 27.0 | .510 | .720 | 1.8 | 12.1 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
Correction 2026-07-18: minutes raised from 23.0 to 27.0 and the counting line re-scaled. The $28M over two years came out of the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception and was LA's largest free-agent commitment of the summer; public 2026-27 lineup projections start him at power forward with Derrick Jones Jr. moved to the bench. The prior line had him behind Jones in minutes, which inverted the team's stated investment. Yahoo/Fadeaway lineup projection
Fantasy translation
- Nine-category: rank 130-180; FG%, threes and low turnovers help, but no scarce counting category creates a ceiling.
- Points: deep-league forward unless his workload rises above 28 minutes.
- Dynasty: low-liquidity contender piece; the July crowd board ranked him 625th and still labeled him a Laker, so neither the team tag nor the rank should be over-weighted. Hashtag
Role and scenarios
- Low: Jones closes for defense on a team playing for wins and Hachimura settles near 21 minutes.
- Base: 27 minutes as the starting power forward and the cleanest shooting complement to Garland and Wagler.
- High: the trade closes, LA needs shot-making and Hachimura claims 30-32 minutes, reaching 14-15 points and two threes.
The Leonard/Ingram branch changes usage less than the closing-lineup battle with Derrick Jones Jr. and Baba Miller. Hachimura's value needs volume because his per-minute assists and stocks remain modest.
Confidence
| Roster | Minutes | Rate | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Medium | High | Medium-high |
Career record
Pre-NBA: Three seasons at Gonzaga (2016-17 through 2018-19), arriving from Japan with limited English and developing into the WCC Player of the Year as a junior: 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 30.2 minutes across 37 starts, plus consensus All-American honors, the Julius Erving Award as the nation's best small forward, and Maui Invitational MVP. Draft: 2019, first round, 9th pick, Washington — the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 21 | WSH | 48 | 30.1 | 13.5 | 6.1 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 | .466 | .829 | 1.1 |
| 2020-21 | 22 | WSH | 57 | 31.5 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.8 | .478 | .770 | 1.2 |
| 2021-22 | 23 | WSH | 42 | 22.5 | 11.3 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | .491 | .697 | 0.8 |
| 2022-23 | 24 | WSH | 30 | 24.3 | 13.0 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.0 | .488 | .759 | 1.2 |
| 2022-23 | 24 | LAL | 33 | 22.4 | 9.6 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | .485 | .721 | 0.5 |
| 2023-24 | 25 | LAL | 68 | 26.8 | 13.6 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.4 | .537 | .739 | 0.7 |
| 2024-25 | 26 | LAL | 59 | 31.7 | 13.1 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | .509 | .770 | 0.8 |
| 2025-26 | 27 | LAL | 68 | 28.3 | 11.5 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.7 | .514 | .694 | 0.6 |
| Career | 405 | 27.8 | 12.6 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | .499 | .758 | 0.8 |
Durability: Seven seasons, 405 games, and he has cleared 60 games only three times. The rookie year (48) ran into the COVID shutdown; 2021-22 was cut to 42 games because he was away from the team for the opening months; 2022-23 totaled 63 across the midseason trade to the Lakers. The most recent concern is the knee — patellar tendinopathy diagnosed in late February 2025 cost him roughly three weeks, and he said publicly it would not be fully right until the offseason. He answered with 68 games in 2025-26, his joint career high.
Trajectory: The career is a clean role conversion. Washington used him as a 30-minute-a-night volume scorer who shot in the .460s and rebounded six a game; the Lakers turned him into an off-ball spacer, and the shooting followed — .537, .509 and .514 from the field over the last three years, with three-point volume tripling from the Wizards era. The 2025-26 season pushed that to its logical end: 44.3% from three, but a career low in rebounds (3.3), assists (0.8) and free throw attempts (1.1), which is the fantasy problem in one line. He is efficient and empty. The Clippers paid him the full non-taxpayer mid-level to start at power forward, and public lineup projections have Derrick Jones Jr. moving to the bench for him. He needs volume, not opportunity of a new kind: at 30-32 minutes he is a 14-point, two-three forward and a fringe top-120 nine-cat piece. He gets there if the closing-lineup battle with Jones breaks his way, or if a Kawhi Leonard absence forces LA to play him as a primary scorer. The 44.3% is the thing to fade — his career mark is 39.4%, itself inflated by the Lakers years.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Wikipedia — Rui Hachimura · Gonzaga player bio · Hachimura's patellar tendinopathy explained (Silver Screen and Roll)
Open questions
- Does Hachimura start, close, or serve as a scoring sixth forward?
- Can rebounding rise on a team that needs it after the Zubac trade?
- Was the 44.3% three-point season sustainable or a high-end outlier?