Just a little over a minute into Japan’s game against Belgium on Friday, Rui Hachimura nailed his first basket of the evening from beyond the arc — as if it was an afterthought.
But it was actually his first game since his 2020-21 NBA season ended in a playoff series loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in early June. Despite the break from action, Hachimura made it look easy, showing no signs of being rusty.
After all, the 23-year-old Washington Wizards forward racked up a game-high 24 points, despite playing less than 19 minutes, during the national team’s 87-59 win over Belgium in a warm-up contest for the Tokyo Olympics.