(Video) Rui Hachimura Channels Inner Sumo Wrestler Ahead of Lakers New Season 

Rui Hachimura was spotted in his home country, Japan, training with sumo wrestlers ahead of the 2025–26 NBA season.

(Video) Rui Hachimura Channels Inner Sumo Wrestler Ahead of Lakers New Season 

Rui Hachimura (Image by FirstSportz)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

The Los Angeles Lakers have been busy this offseason, adding new stars to strengthen their 2026 title push, while players have made their own headlines, from LeBron James hitting the golf course to Luka Doncic entertaining fans at Dyckman Park.

To add to this, the Lakers’ power forward Rui Hachimura was spotted channeling his inner sumo wrestler ahead of the new season. Hachimura took to his Instagram live to showcase his new training method.

The star, as per his Insta live, was spotted training with sumo wrestlers in Japan. It should come as no surprise because the majority of players take a different strategy to master particular talents when it comes to offseason training videos.

A few months ago, the San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was spotted in China training with Monks in Shaolin during his stay there. Wemby raved about the experience and called it a life-changing one about his stay in Shaolin. Hachimura just adds to the list of taking unconventional methods for practice during the off-season.

He’ll be looking to make a quick impact for the Lakers going into the new season. Mostly because, with the likes of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart added to the Lakers’ side, Hachimura’s position in the team as a starter or a bench player also is not guaranteed due to the increase in depth and competition around him.

The 27-year-old showed excellent scoring instinct in numerous circumstances throughout the previous season. Hachimura frequently played with his back to the hoop and operated in the midrange after giving up the three-point shot. Last season, the Japanese averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds.

NBA reporter makes an interesting Rui Hachimura trade proposal

The Lakers have a pretty stacked roster, covering basically all sides and positions of their team going into the new NBA season. However, the one gap on the team would be a ball-handling guard. Although their star man Luka Doncic would take up most of the duties regarding the ball-handling, they still need a 6th man who would provide them the offense in that department.

Regarding this, the NBA reporter Jeremy Kruger had an interesting trade idea involving the Lakers’ star Rui Hachimura. As per the reporter, the Los Angeles Lakers should acquire Malik Monk, while the Sacramento Kings should get Rui Hachimura, the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick, and their 2032 second-round pick.

The Lakers would benefit greatly from having Malik Monk on the team. But sacrificing Rui Hachimura and their first-round pick to get him could be a tough pill to swallow. The two primary qualities Monk lacks are size and defense, which Hachimura helps the Lakers provide.

Lakers insider revealed that Rui Hachimura prefers to start for the Lakers going into the new season

With the likes of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, James, Smart, Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Rui Hachimura, it is surely tough to select a starting lineup. However, this also limits players like Hachimura and LaRavia from expecting to start in the new season. However, the Japanese star thinks otherwise.

Hachimura prefers to start for the Lakers going into the new NBA season, as revealed by Lakers insider Jovan Buha via his YouTube channel. Over his 39 starts in 2024, Hachimura produced 15.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from three-point range.

Rui Hachimura
Rui Hachimura (Credits: MARCA)

In a reserve position, all of those figures declined, notably his true shooting percentage, which fell by 8.6%. This also leaves the Lakers with a huge problem and with no easy solution due to the immense competition and depth they have on their roster. The head coach, JJ Redick, will surely need to make many decisions before selecting his starting lineup going into the season.

Also Read: