Our player preview series on the 2027 Clippers continues with starting power forward Rui Hachimura.
Basic Information
Height: 6’8
Weight: 230 pounds
Position: Power Forward
Age: 28
Years in NBA: 7
Stats: 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.6 steals in 28.3 minutes per game across 68 games played (41 starts) on 51.4/44.3/69.4 shooting splits (3.9 3PA, 1.1 FTA) with 62% TS
Contract Status: Signed to a two-year, $28M deal, making $14M this season
Expectations
Rui has some of the clearest expectations on the team. Signed to the mid-level exception (more or less) in the offseason, he was brought in to start at power forward for the Clippers (or maybe be the 6th man in certain configurations) and fill their glaring hole at that position. On the court, he will be asked to nail spot-up threes, cook a bit in the midrange, and bolster bench units with some additional scoring punch. I’ve seen some fans project a breakout season for Rui, and I’d be shocked if it happened – he will turn 29 during the season, he’s played in the NBA for seven seasons, and has logged well over 11K minutes in the league; we know what he is at this point, and that’s a solid rotation player.
Strengths
Rui is an absolute deadeye shooter from three-point range. Over this 3.5 seasons with the Lakers, he shot 41.5% from deep, with a career high 44.3% last season. While Rui doesn’t take as many threes as you’d like (3.6 per game during his Lakers tenure), and is mostly just a spot-up shooter, he’s as reliable as it gets at knocking down open catch-and-shoot threes. That means teams also guard him closely from the perimeter, which opens things up for everyone else. Finally, Rui is actually the all-time NBA leader in playoff three-point shooting percentage, at 51.6%, meaning he has a track record of making shots in high-pressure situations as well.
Rui isn’t just a good three-point shooter, however. He’s also adept from the midrange and long-two area. Throughout most of his career, Rui has taken around 30% of his shots from the midrange or long-two regions of the court, and has shot 45.9% and 44.3% respectively from those spots on the floor across his career. Those might not sound amazing, but for that range those are actually quite excellent. You can give Rui the ball, and with his height, strength, and shooting touch, he can create a fairly reliable mid-range bucket almost any time he wants. Those midrange shots still aren’t great efficiency, but it’s not a bad source of offense when push comes to shove.
Weaknesses
Rui has always been a disappointing defensive player and rebounder. He has good size and physical tools, but has just never been a plus defender, even when “locked in”. The fact that he is so big and strong means he doesn’t get “picked on” in one-on-one settings like smaller guards can, but the Clippers will have to cover for him on defense. The rebounding is even more frustrating, because it’s declined almost every year that Rui has been in the NBA. He used to be just a “blah” rebounder, but the past few years he’s been actively abysmal on the glass. His defensive rebound percentage in his seven years in the NBA go: 17.0, 15.5, 15.6, 16.5, 13.7, 12.6, 10.9. Unless things really turn around, Rui will not provide much support on defense in any capacity outside of sheer size.
Offensively, Rui’s shooting is unimpeachable. Unfortunately, he has never been able to leverage his shooting to get downhill and draw fouls or make plays for others. His free throw rate has declined over the years as he’s moved more behind the three-point line on offense, with a paltry 1.1 free throws attempted last year (his career high was 2.9 as a rookie). Similarly, the playmaking has never developed in any real way, with Rui’s assists career high also coming as a rookie (1.8), and posting a career low 0.8 per game last year. He’s not a ball hog, but the Clippers will not be able to rely on him to create shots for others, only himself.
Summary
Rui reminds me a lot of former Clipper Marcus Morris. Longtime readers and listeners will know that I detested watching Marcus Morris, and might think that I feel similarly about Rui. That’s not quite the case. Morris’ personality irritated me, and he was also brought in as the final piece to a championship contender before being overplayed compared to superior alternatives. Rui is coming into a far lower pressure setting, the Clippers don’t have better options at power forward, and he seems like a very cool guy. However, I do think that like Marcus, Rui is quite overrated as a player – he can score and shoot, but he’s below average at basically everything else, and his position is probably the one in the NBA that is most focused on doing little things and being a connective tissue. Thus, even though I’m sure I won’t despise the Rui experience like I did the Marcus Morris tenure, I probably will get frustrated at him a lot. The good news is that if Rui does play well, he seems like a lock to get traded at the deadline to a contender for picks or young players, and that’s probably the best outcome for all involved. In the meantime, he will be a competent role player at a position of need, and his shooting will definitely help the team a lot on offense.
