This is not a Rui slander piece! Slander is false spoken statements which may damage a person’s reputation. I’m typing this.

I’m kidding of course, the rookie from Gonzaga has given Wizards fans a lot to be excited for after a quarter of the season. In fact, were it to end today, I would pencil Hachimura in as the second best rookie in the league, coming just shy of the Ja Morant show in Memphis. However, for all the praise that Wizards’ fans, myself or the media may lay upon him, the numbers aren’t always as kind. After he went down with a friendly-fire groin injury a game ago, I thought it would be good opportunity to reflect on the 21 year old’s journey thus far. And to begin, I want to address a comparison I hear far too often:

“Rui Hachimura is the next Kawhi Leonard”

No. I promise he is not. Comparing the most devastating two way player to come into the league since MJ, to a rookie who owns the 25th-worst DBPM in the league is laughable. I never understood the seemingly-compulsive need of hopeful Rui fans have to parrot this take. It doesn’t mean he isn’t a good player. It doesn’t mean he can’t become a great player. It simply means he has entered the league as a clear negative on the defensive end.

Now, I won’t be too hypercritical of Rui, as the Wizards boast the league’s worst defense rating and it’s hard to be a good individual defender when your team defense is largely based around praying the other team misses. Fun fact: the difference between the Wizards’ defensive rating (117.37) and the second-worst Hawks (115.16) is the same as the difference between the Hawks and the eighth-worst Grizzlies (12.72). Teams aren’t exactly struggling to get theirs against this team. In fact, if I were in the NBA and Rui Hachimura was guarding me I would simply go around him.

Rui’s defensive deficiencies aren’t the only thing brought to the forefront by various editions of the plus-minus stat. In fact, advanced stats as a whole do not paint the rookie in a good light. Right now I want to ignore that. Ignorance is bliss, they say. Let’s focus on the one stat that separates a veritable superstar from a G-League scrub. A stat that can be used to win any argument, completely void of context. Points. Per. Game.

As NBA legend Dion Waiters once postulated, “Men lie women lie BUCKETS [DONT].”

Rui Hachimura is averaging just shy of 14 PPG at the time of me writing this article (12/19) which ties him with Miami’s Tyler Herro as 4th best of his 2019 draft compatriots. Impressed? What if I told you of those 5, he’s doing it in the least minutes (29.2 MPG). You should be. As I looked at Hachimura’s counting stats in the context of his draft and his draft position, I was actually surprised at much of what I found. The numbers paint him as a top-5 product (granted Zion Williamson has yet to step on an NBA court) which would be great value for Washington, who snagged him at 9. He’s the second best rebounder of the class (5.8), trailing only Memphis’s Brandon Clarke (6.0). Of players who have played 300+ minutes, he ranks 5th among rookies in FG% and perhaps even more impressively (and surprisingly?), 3rd in FT%.

“Oh but Ian, if he’s such a solid free throw shooter, why doesn’t it translate to his 21% 3PT shooting?”

What? I must apologize, I have a very selective kind of blindness to where I actually do not know what a three point line is, therefore that stat means very little to me. Thank you for bringing it up though, as I wasn’t sure how to transition into this next section.

Remember when I said advanced stats aren’t as kind to him? It’s not a reach to say they’re actually kind of mean to him. He sports a negative Box Plus-Minus as well as a negative Value Over Replacement Player. Not thing’s I’m ready to crucify a rookie for, as many of this class’s top talent aren’t blowing me away in these categories. However, there is one aspect of his game that I think would really help his offensive on/off numbers. The biggest weakness in Rui Hachimura’s game is his shot selection. Rui’s played 69% of his minutes this season at PF (29% SF, 2% C), meaning he’s done a lot of rim-running, posting up and lob catching — things you’d typically expect of a guy who plays the 4. Thirty six percent of Rui’s shots come at the rim, per Basketball Reference. Those three aforementioned plays don’t offer a lot of room for creativity on his behalf.

Step 1: Get in position on the lower block.

Step 2: Back your (hopefully) smaller defender down.

Step 3: Score.

Easy, right? If you’re the point guard and you see Rui in a good position, just pass it in and he’ll usually get the job done. And that’s what they do a large majority of the time, as nearly 77% of Rui’s shots at the rim come from well found assists. The problem then, is when you give Rui the ball at the top of the key.

As your subconscious was so kind as to point out before, Rui has struggled greatly shooting the three, a shot that makes up about 16% of his shooting profile. However, he knows this. He’ll never take that shot on his own volition. Per Basketball Reference,100% of these are assisted, most likely on kick outs and end-of-clock hot potato basketball. His biggest weakness is when he gets to pick where he shoots the ball. The area between 3ft from the basket and the three point line accounts for the remaining 48% of his shot profile, and unfortunately, these are the ones he chooses to take. The %Ast’d on this type of shot drops to around 62%, which would suggest that he’s hunting them out rather than getting to the rim, something we know he’s capable of.

This is where I want to see improvement. The Washington defense is not a ship that will right itself this season so I’m hesitant to criticize further. But for Rui Hachimura to blend seamlessly into their league-leading offense, he needs to make some adjustments. The Wizards are the most entertaining, glass-cannon style team the NBA has seen in years. For their coveted rookie and future cornerstone, his shot selection is currently represents a small dent in the glass, that if not addressed, could come back around to bite the organization as they rely heavier on him in years to come. Still, Wizards fans still have a lot to look forward to. Grunfield is out. Bertans cannot miss. Wall will return one day, and it will be to the first semblance of a ‘young core’ he’s seen in his career in their 2020 pick, Hachimura and Brown Jr. (another player who’s impressed me lately). The Wizards should be on everyone’s radar, because a well-timed jump from Rui (and a defensive identity) could catapult them back into contention.