When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Rui Hachimura back in 2023, he was known as a scoring forward, but not someone who would be considered a shooter. But over the past few seasons, Hachimura has turned into the team’s most consistent 3-point shooter, on pace to shoot above 40% from deep for the third straight season.
This season, Hachimura is shooting a career-high from 3-point range and he knocked down 3-of-4 from deep on his way to 21 points in the Lakers’ victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers and Mavericks will always be tied together due to the Luka Doncic trade, but they are also closely linked due to former Lakers assistant Jason Kidd taking the head coaching job there with multiple coaches following him to Dallas.
One of those coaches was Phil Handy, whom many players hold in very high regard and Hachimura is among them. After his latest strong performance, Hachimura spoke about Handy and credited him for playing a big role in his development as a 3-point shooter.
“I think, as you guys know, since I got here that was my main thing that I worked on. Especially Phil Handy, shoutout to Phil Handy, the Mavs coach. He was the guy, he kinda put me on those games. He told me this is gonna be really important for me, for my basketball career and it’s gonna help this team win a lot of basketball games. That’s not really my thing I guess, but as my role I think I have to shoot more threes with this team,” Hachimura said.
Hachimura has grown into that role perfectly over the years for the Lakers and it feels almost automatic any time he lets it go from deep, especially from the corners. In this era of NBA basketball, the 3-point shot is absolutely critical and Hachimura has been able to adjust his game and Handy deserves a lot of credit for helping him see that and putting in the work alongside him.
Assistant coaches rarely get the attention and praise they deserve, but they are often the ones doing so much individual work and helping players grow and develop. But Hachimura will never forget the impact Handy has had on his career and even though he is on the opposing side now, that respect remains.
JJ Redick assesses first half of Lakers season
The Lakers’ victory over the Mavericks takes them into the All-Star break on a winning note. And head coach JJ Redick gave his assessment on how the first half of the season has gone for his team.
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