Rui Hachimura has been enjoying an incredible postseason run, but it’s all going to go to waste because it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers are going to get swept in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers have been getting everything they could have asked for from Hachimura, but it hasn’t been enough.
With Luka Doncic out and Austin Reaves out for most of the first round, the Lakers needed guys to step up. And though Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard may have been the guys on most people’s minds for a while, Hachimura was consistently one of the Lakers’ best players.
Heading into a summer when Hachimura will be a free agent, this has been a great postseason for him, but the Lakers haven’t made the most of it.
Lakers are wasting historic Rui Hachimura run
Hachimura has been close to unstoppable this postseason, but more specifically, he has been one of the league’s most prolific threats from beyond the three-point line. But even that statement doesn’t do him justice.
Through Hachimura’s first nine playoff games this season, he has averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 54.2% from the floor and a ridiculous 58.0% from behind the arc on 5.6 three-point attempts per contest.
Again, that’s 58.0% from deep range. It’s an absurd number. When the Lakers get him the ball, they are unbelievably confident in his ability to knock it down.
And defenses have had to account for him, too. The extra pressure teams have sent at LeBron James and Reaves comes at a cost now, especially if it gives Hachimura space to rise up and fire.
But Hachimura’s three-point dominance this postseason has stretched far beyond the confines of the 2025-26 campaign. In fact, Hachimura is etching himself in NBA history.
Right now, at this exact moment in time, Hachimura’s career playoff three-point percentage of 51.68% is the best in NBA history. No other player has shot the ball more efficiently from deep range than Hachimura, and this year’s playoff run has helped solidify that.
Yet, the Lakers are about to flame out in the second round. Doncic isn’t healthy, and they have run into one of the most dominant teams in recent memory.
All of Hachimura’s elite three-point shooting is going to be completely wasted because the Lakers aren’t healthy and don’t have nearly enough to take down the almighty Thunder.
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