LOS ANGELES – Japan men’s basketball star Rui Hachimura is enjoying one of his best starts to an NBA campaign, helping the Los Angeles Lakers open the 2025-26 season strongly despite their injury-depleted roster.

Now in his seventh NBA season, the most by a Japanese player, Hachimura currently ranks among the league’s three-point leaders, hitting 48.1 percent from deep, while also thriving from mid-range to average 15.1 points on 56.6 percent field goal shooting through 14 games.

“I’m glad I can help lead the team with my shooting,” he said.

Hachimura’s offense took a backseat last season as the Lakers incorporated superstar playmaker Luka Doncic into a starting lineup already featuring veteran great LeBron James.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick encouraged Hachimura to forego the mid-range and focus more on three-pointers, which the Toyama Prefecture native did to great effect, raising his outside accuracy to over 40 percent.

“It’s a matter of rhythm and being comfortable with your shot,” Hachimura said.

The two-time Olympian spent part of the summer practicing intensively with James, undertaking drills to hone his dribbling and other skills under the eye of the future Hall of Famer.

“Playing with him has helped me improve my ball handling,” said Hachimura, who has been more aggressive with his shot this season.

While Redick still emphasizes outside shooting from Hachimura, the coach has now also given the 27-year-old the green light from mid-range.

“I have to make the most of my strengths and play my own game,” Hachimura said.

Those strengths were on display early this month when he poured in a season-high 28 points to lead his team to victory on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 203-centimeter, 104-kilogram forward used his speed, strength and footwork to score in a variety of ways against a Portland defense that struggled to contain him.

With the 40-year-old James and other players returning from injury, the Lakers roster is approaching full strength for the first time this season, and Hachimura is determined to step things up in pursuit of a championship.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” he said.