LOS ANGELES – Through the Los Angeles Lakers’ first four games of the season, one thing is clear, this team is vastly different than last year.

Despite the Lakers’ recent loss to the Phoenix Suns, they’re playing a much better brand of basketball. One Lakers player who is having a strong start to the 2024-25 NBA season is Rui Hachimura.

Although the Lakers lost their first game of the season, Hachimura had his best outing of the year so far against the Suns. He finished the game with 20 points, ten rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He was a perfect 3-of-3 from the three-point line.

After the Lakers win against the Sacramento Kings last Sunday, Rui Hachimura spoke about why he thinks he’s been off to a hot start this season, especially when it comes to moving off the ball and cutting to the basket.

“Playing with LeBron, AD, AR [Austin Reaves], D’Lo, those guys can pass and they’re always looking, watching. I trust them and they know I’m good at it. So I think those chemistries we’ve been working on since day one, since I got here, and it’s getting better,” Hachimura told reporters.

“It’s just the timing. When my defender loses vision because of the attention they get. . .it’s just the timing when they turn their heads. . .they always see me.”

With the Lakers hoping to end this season better than they did last year, they’re going to need Hachimura to be a big part of that.

Rui Hachimura’s role with the Lakers

The 2023-24 NBA season was an up and down one for Rui Hachimura. He was originally acquired by the Lakers in a trade with the Washington Wizards ahead of the 2022-23 trade deadline.

He initially fit in well as the team’s starting small forward and helped power them to a Western Conference Finals run.

But last year, Hachimura’s role was often undefined and inconsistent. Former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham couldn’t decide if he wanted Hachimura in the starting lineup or coming off the bench.

With JJ Redick at the helm now, Hachimura’s role has been much more defined. He’s playing off of the other four playmakers the Lakers have in the lineup.

He’s being aggressive and attacking the glass. He’s moving without the ball and getting himself free for easy scoring opportunities.

He spoke about what he feels is the major difference between last season and this season.

“Last year we were kind of messing around. . .the lineup, everything, injuries, all that. We didn’t have kind of the mindset of, let’s take number one in the West. We didn’t have that mindset,” Hachimura said. “But this year, I think we have that since we started training camp. We know that we have to be good at it.”

Through the Lakers first four games of the season, Hachimura is averaging 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He’s shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 61.5 from the three-point line and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

The Lakers’ current road trip continues with a game on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.