Rui Hachimura

From J-Wiki
Rui Hachimura Playing Card 1

Rui Hachimura (八村 塁, Hachimura Rui, born February 8, 1998) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is a member of the Japanese national team. Listed at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 230 lbs (104 kg), he plays both the small forward and power forward positions. He was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 NBA draft, and he was selected 9th overall in the first round by the Wizards.

Born in Toyama Prefecture, Hachimura achieved success at the youth level in Japan, leading Meisei High School to three straight All-Japan High School Tournament titles and being a top player for the Japanese under-17 and under-19 national teams in FIBA competition. He joined Gonzaga in 2016 as the fifth Japanese-born men's NCAA Division I player and became the first Japanese national in 2017 to play in the NCAA Division I men's tournament. As a sophomore, he earned first-team All-WCC honors. He was named a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year.

Rui Hachimura Playing Card 2

Hachimura was born in Toyama Prefecture of Japan to a Japanese mother Makiko (麻紀子) and Beninese father, Zakari Jabil. His given name, Rui (塁), means "base" or "fortress" in Japanese; the name was given to him by his grandfather because he was a big fan of baseball (the character 塁 is also used for "base" in context of baseball). He has three younger siblings, one brother, and two sisters.