Rui Hachimura

Okay, real talk: a kid from Toyama becoming the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round of the NBA draft? That still kind of blows my mind. What I love about Rui is the contrast. He's 6'8", built like a freight train, yet he's got this soft, almost delicate jumper and a genuinely scary playoff three-point stroke. Beninese and Japanese roots, a body that bangs inside, and that quietly relentless work ethic, it's the best of a lot of worlds packed into one forward. And carrying the flag at the Tokyo opening ceremony? Pure chills. He plays with this calm pride that makes you sit up. Every time he goes off, you can feel some basketball-obsessed kid back home dreaming a little bigger. Easy guy to root for.

Rui Hachimura was born on February 8, 1998, in Toyama City, Toyama, Japan, to a Beninese father and a Japanese mother. In 2019, he was selected 9th overall in the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, becoming the first Japanese player ever chosen in the first round. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in January 2023 and signed a three-year contract extension that summer worth approximately $51 million. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he served as the flag bearer for the Japanese delegation and averaged 22.3 points per game in the group stage.

Name (English)

Rui Hachimura

Name (Japanese)

八村塁

Reading

はちむらるい

Born

February 8, 1998 (age 28)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aquarius / Tiger

Origin

Toyama, Toyama, Japan

Blood type

A

Height

203 cm

Agency

Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)

Agency history

Washington Wizards (2019–January 2023)

Active years

2019–present

Occupation

Professional basketball player

Junior high

Okuda Junior High School, Toyama City

High school

Meisei High School (Miyagi Prefecture)

University

Gonzaga University (Spokane, Washington; Sports Management)

Debut

2019 — Selected 9th overall in the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards; the first Japanese player ever chosen in the first round.

Awards & achievements

• 2013 National High School Basketball Invitational Championship (Meisei High School)
• 2015 Winter Cup Three-Peat Championship (Meisei High School)
• 2019 NBA Draft First Round, 9th Overall Pick (first Japanese player selected in the first round)
• 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
• 2021 Tokyo Olympics Japanese Delegation Flag Bearer

Timeline

1. 1998Born February 8 in Toyama City, Toyama, Japan (father from Benin, mother Japanese)
2. 2013Entered Meisei High School; helped team win the National High School Basketball Invitational Championship
3. 2015Achieved Winter Cup three-peat; enrolled at Gonzaga University
4. 2019Selected 9th overall in the NBA Draft — the first Japanese player ever chosen in the first round — and joined the Washington Wizards
5. 2020Named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team
6. 2021Served as flag bearer for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony; averaged 22.3 points per game in the group stage
7. 2023Traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on January 23; signed a three-year contract extension worth approximately $51 million that summer
8. 2024Reached 3,000 career NBA points on January 29, becoming only the second player of Asian descent to do so; selected for the Paris Olympics but withdrew mid-tournament due to a left calf injury

Spouse

Unmarried

Parents

Father: Beninese (name private); Mother: Japanese (name private)

Siblings

Younger brother: Aren Hachimura (basketball player)

Hobbies

• Basketball

Specialties

• Three-point shooting
• Inside scoring

Motto

Private

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/rui_8mura/
• Xhttps://x.com/rui_8mura
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AB%E6%9D%91%E5%A1%81

Tags

• From Toyama
• NBA
• Los Angeles Lakers
• First Japanese first-round draft pick
• Japan national basketball team
• Tokyo Olympics flag bearer
• Gonzaga University

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.