HACHIMURA Rui

General
FAMOUS FACE
He has been described as 'the face' of Japanese basketball after becoming the first Japanese player to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2019. "It's been crazy. After I got drafted, and even before, everything changed. More people recognised me when I walk outside. More media. It's been like this since high school. I expected it to be like this. It means a lot, for me, my family, and my country. It's just a big thing for us - drafted in the first round and going to the NBA. [After playing three 2019 Summer League games] I'm obviously still getting used to NBA games and I have a lot of things I didn't even know, so I've been asking the coaches and even the players. I just want to help this team [Washington Wizards] win games. I don't care how high I got drafted. Whatever I have to do for the team [I will do]. I got to improve every day, little by little, and help this team." (nba.com, 16 Jul 2019)

HERITAGE
He was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Beninese father. In 2016 he moved to the United States of America to study at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. "It was very hard [in the beginning]. I didn't speak any English and I didn't know anything about US culture and stuff. My teammates and coaches [at Gonzaga] really helped me." (nikkansports.com, 12 May 2016; sankei.com, 21 Jun 2019; nytimes.com, 20 Jun 2019; huffpost.com, 21 Jun 2019)

He became the first basketball player from Japan to participate in the NBA's All-Star Weekend, when he was selected for the Rising Stars game in the 2019/20 season. (english.kyodonews.net, 01 Feb 2020; nbcsports.com, 20 Feb 2020)

In 2019 he became the first Japanese-born basketball player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, when he was chosen in the first round, ninth overall pick, by the Washington Wizards. He was the second Japanese-born player to be drafted into the NBA. (nytimes.com, 20 Jun 2019; nba.com, 16 Jul 2019; huffpost.com, 21 Jun 2019)