NBA games on Christmas Day are a tradition that has been going on for a very long time and it is pretty much a guarantee that the Los Angeles Lakers will be taking the court every year. This year saw the Lakers pick up a huge road win over the Golden State Warriors and Rui Hachimura played a big role in the team’s success.
With Anthony Davis spraining his ankle in the first quarter and never returning, Hachimura had to play a lot of minutes at center and he held his own, knocking down 5-of-7 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. But most important to Hachimura was the win, especially on Christmas.
Following the victory, Hachimura spoke about how he is grateful to be able to play on Christmas with this Lakers team and that getting the win made it worth not being able to spend the holiday with their families, via NBA.com:
“Before the game, we talked about how this is Christmas Day. We want to spend time with our family in L.A., but this is a great opportunity for us. Not anybody can play on Christmas Day. We talked about it how we have to be grateful to play in a game with these guys, players, coaches. JJ said that we got to get this win so it’s worth it. I know AD got hurt literally in the beginning and we. were kind of in shock. But we kind of turned around and were like OK, let’s make this great, positive energy. We gotta win this game. Everybody on the court stepped up today, we were great and helped each other. We got this dub, so it was really big for us.”
These are the sacrifices that come with being an NBA player. It is difficult to not be able to be with family and children, especially on Christmas, but the least the Lakers could do was play hard to get a win and they did that. Hachimura has been an important piece for this team and JJ Redick was very reliant on him once Davis went down.
The Lakers buckled down as a team, with multiple players giving them strong performances, and in the end they left the Bay Area with the best Christmas gift they could give themselves, the joy of victory.
LeBron James praises Rui Hachimura for doing little things for Lakers
Rui Hachimura needed to be a bit more of a scorer against the Warriors, but even when that hasn’t been needed he has found other ways to make an impact for the Lakers and that has not gone unnoticed by LeBron James.
The Lakers superstar recently praised Hachimura for doing the little things for the Lakers, which is what head coach JJ Redick outlined for the forward prior to the season. Most notable has been Hachimura’s work on the offensive glass as he is averaging nearly two per game this year.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
