Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley may be playing overseas entering the 2024-25 NBA season, but he is still very active in giving his opinion about the league. In his recent podcast, the defensive specialist sees that Rui Hachimura should step up for the Lakers to get deep into the NBA playoffs.
LeBron James is entering his 40s in the upcoming season and Anthony Davis is a year older as well, the Lakers need their supporting cast to step up in order to have a better season in a stacked NBA Western Conference.
Aside from Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura has always been seen as a player that should hep the team get over the hump in order to get another championship for the Lakers. Team management sees that as well, and proof of that is the contract extension given to him worth $51 million in three years.
Having played with the Lakers during the 2022–23 season, Patrick Beverley got an inside glimpse of the team. He also played with Hachimura and saw his potential.
“Rui. He a good basketball player. But I don’t–he’s not the x-factor to me. Actually, you know what, he should be the x-factor because he gets paid as the x-factor should be. So yeah, f**k it, we gon’ put him x-factor,” said Beverley. “He needs to do more. He has to come in like, ‘I’m the second option.’ His mindset has to be, ‘It’s AD here, it’s LeBron here, it’s Austin Reaves here, it’s DLo here but nah. AD gettin it, i’m the second option.'”
Patrick Beverley compares Rui Hachimura to Kyle Kuzma’s impact in the Los Angeles Lakers 2020 bubble championship
The Los Angeles Lakers kicked of the new decade with an NBA championship in 2020 in what seemed to be many more to come during the tail end of LeBron James’ career. However, five seasons later, the Lakers find themselves in mediocrity, hoping to get more from their 39-year-old superstar. Hence, the team saw their rival team, the Boston Celtics, get another championship ahead of them.
Seeing this, Patrick Beverley feels that Rui Hachimura should step up and take a page from Kyle Kuzma’s book during the 2020 NBA season.
“What made them successful that Bubble Year, Kyle Kuzma. A wing with size that can put the ball on the floor, and people used to clown Kuzma because he used to take some tough shots but you need some balls like that. Because the same shot you take in the regular season that look tought is the same shot you go take at the end of the game.”
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