Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share a strong bond
Los Angeles The Lakers are still finding chemistry with new players in his team, and things seem to be going smoothly. For Deandre Aytonhe has some famous faces he knows in the team, one of which is Rui Hachimura from some time ago. Hachimura recently talked about his relationship with Ayton and where they first met.
“He has an interesting personality,” Hachimura said. “I already love him. He’s a character. I think he and I are almost the same age. I know him from an NBA camp when I was 16, NBA without borders. I was with him that year, so it’s funny to see that it was 10, 12 years ago, and now we’re teammates.”
“He’s got an interesting personality. I love him already. He’s a character.” Rui Hachimura on new Lakers center Deandre Ayton. Hachimura also shared a funny story about the first time he met Ayton at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Toronto during the 2016 All-Star Weekend. pic.tvitter.com/KusLJKRfdk
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 24, 2025
It’s good that Hachimura and Ayton are building something off the field, and that should make things easier on the field. Ayton didn’t have a big game in his Lakers season debut against Golden State, but he did everything he could to make his presence known.
As the season progresses, he should be able to acclimate more with the team, especially with players like Luka Doncic, who will be feeding him passes mostly in the pick-and-roll and paint.
The Lakers are still trying to figure out chemistry with Deandre Ayton
After their loss to the Warriors, Aiton admitted which left some fans scratching their heads for the start of the season.
“I realized today that I’m probably confusingly big, when I can roll and just stand in the pocket. It’s probably a little difficult for them sometimes. I’m so used to the league having that short man on me, so sometimes I can’t even finish the roll,” Ayton said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The pick-and-roll will be key to this team’s success, and Ayton will be heavily involved in those plays. Ayton has a unique skill set where he can dunk and shoot a rebound, or he can roll to the basket. Once he and the ball handler are on the same page, the play should become seamless. Some fans are already weary of Ayton after only watching him in the preseason and the first game of the regular season, but they need to give him some time before making any quick decisions.
Things could get even more confusing when LeBron James returns, since he still hasn’t been able to play with Ayton.
2025-10-24 19:22:00
