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“Westbrook Senpai!”: Japanese-born Wizards youngster Rui Hachimura reveals that he calls Russell Westbrook ‘senpai’

Raahib Singh
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"Westbrook Senpai!": Japanese-born Wizards youngster Rui Hachimura reveals that he calls Russell Westbrook 'senpai'

Washington Wizards sophomore Rui Hachimura reveals what he calls Russell Westbrook, stats and numbers explain why.

The Washington Wizards are not having the best season so far. After having a shaky 6-19 start to the season, they seem to have stabilized a bit and improved to 17-29.

It’s still not good enough for a playoff berth, but they’re just 2.5 games behind the 10th seeded Bulls. If they manage to make it till the 10th spot, they can try their hand at the play-in games.

Also Read: “Michael Jordan did exactly what he said he’d do to Nick Anderson”: Shaquille O’Neal reminisces over how MJ trash talked and laid out his former Magic teammate

For the above-mentioned case to happen, the Wizards would need production from more than just Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. This is where Rui Hachimura and the others kick in. In his 2nd year, Hachimura has shown noticeable improvement and is becoming a force in the paint.

Rui Hachimura calls Russell Westbrook ‘senpai’

Russell Westbrook may not have had the expected impact on winning as expected, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t affected the Wizards team in other ways.

Russ has been known to make players around him better, and to be an excellent teammate. An example of the same is how he has helped Rui Hachimura become a genuine threat in the paint.

Hachimura acknowledges the same in the name he calls Westbrook. Rui calls Russ ‘senpai’, which is a Japanese word for senior or a leader.

Also Read: “Russell Westbrook, we know what you can do, but where is your chip?”: Stephen A Smith continues the conversation regarding the Wizards star’s lack of playoff success

Rui has been averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 52.8% from the field and 40.6% from deep in the last 10 games. Russ has been constantly working with him, both during games and practice, and keeps giving inputs as to how the 23-year-old can improve.

Rui has already had 8 games scoring 20 or more this season, which is a step up from the 3 such games he had last year. If Russ keeps working with Rui, and keeps guiding him, Hachimura can turn out to be a force to be reckoned with.

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

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Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.

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