With the offseason additions the Los Angeles Lakers made, there have been some questions about what the starting lineup for this team will be this season. In particular, there are some who wonder whether the starting spot that has been held by Rui Hachimura over the last couple seasons would be better served going to a more defensive-minded player.
In fairness to Hachimura, he showed great improvements on that end of the floor after being challenged by head coach JJ Redick. He was also an excellent spot-up shooter and was better with his cutting and crashing the glass. But with perimeter defense being such a focus, the idea of starting someone like Marcus Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt or Jake LaRavia could prove beneficial for the team overall.
At Lakers Media Day, Hachimura was asked about whether he prefers to start and the forward made it clear that he will do whatever Redick asks of him, though he did add that he feels the starting group from last year built a lot of chemistry together.
Rui Hachimura says the starting lineup is JJ Redick's decision and he will do whatever is asked of him.
He did add, however, that he feels last year's starting lineup has already built good chemistry together.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) September 29, 2025
Hachimura alongside Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves are certainly more familiar with each other now and will be able to continue to build on that with a full training camp together. Sliding Deandre Ayton into that center spot would also mark a great improvement in thefront court as well.
In the end, it is always about doing what is best for the team and the onus will be on Redick and the Lakers coaching staff to figure out the best lineups to be successful this season. And Hachimura is committed to doing whatever is asked of him to help this Lakers team.
When asked about his starting lineup though, Redick recently stated that no decisions have been made.
Lakers coach JJ Redick sees growth in confidence from Rui Hachimura
Despite being in the league for a while now, Rui Hachimura is still just 27 years old and is continuing to get better every season. One thing that Lakers coach JJ Redick has noticed is a growth in confidence from the forward.
“I would describe Rui as a joy to be around every day,” Redick said at a recent press conference. “That joy is almost always there. What I’ve seen just in the last few weeks is just a higher level of confidence. And I think you still have to look at him as a young player in this league and I think as your confidence grows, your joy grows, your production and output grows. So it’s small nuanced things, but Rui is playing with a lot of confidence, he’s carrying himself with a lot of confidence and has been and is just an absolute pleasure to coach.”
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