Rui Hachimura Makes Big Announcement After Lakers' Loss to Timberwolves
The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an unexpected first round exit, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. Despite being the No. 3 seed and holding home court advantage over the No. 6 seed Timberwolves, the Lakers were unable to circumvent their lack of size against a big Minnesota team.
In addition to LA's front court issue, there was an overall lack of offensive production outside of LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith, two key players during the regular season, each shot well-below their season averages from 3-point range in the five-game loss to Minnesota.
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One player who remained productive for LA in the postseason was 6-foot-8 forward Rui Hachimura.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28)© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Averaging 14.8 points against the Timberwolves, a slight increase from his regular season average (13.1), Hachimura converted on a team-best 48.4% of his 3-point attempts in the postseason. This consistency was invaluable to a Lakers team desperate for production outside of James and Doncic, which was evidenced by the 36.4 minutes per game JJ Redick played Hachimura in the playoffs.
Following LA's early exit, Hachimura made an exciting announcement on his offseason plans. The Japanese forward is returning home to host a basketball camp.
This announcement went viral on X, tallying over one million views. Hachimura linked a website that revealed more details.
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"BLACK SAMURAI 2025 THE CAMP is a basketball camp for junior and senior high school students who are serious about playing on the world stage," the website states. "Rui Hachimura will directly teach the skills, physical fitness and mindset he learned in the NBA with world-class coaches."
Related: Luka Doncic Reacts to Major Retirement Announcement
Related: Lakers Make Austin Reaves Decision After Loss to Timberwolves
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New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
Twins' minor-league adventure: Tampa, Sacramento trips marked by ‘difficult' playing conditions
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The risk simply wasn't worth it for Carlos Correa. Recognizing the soreness developing in the middle of his back after two days of slipping and sliding in a rock-hard batter's box at Sutter Health Park, the Twins shortstop elected to sit out the final two contests of a four-game series at the new, temporary home of the Athletics. Advertisement In abandoning Oakland to spend three seasons in the California state capital before they move to a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, the A's made a controversial decision by voluntarily relocating to a Triple-A stadium they're sharing with a minor-league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. While the refurbished facility's amenities drew rave reviews from every Twins player interviewed by The Athletic, including Correa, several noted a number of 'minor-league' issues with its playing surface. After playing in West Sacramento and at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays and spring training facility for the New York Yankees, during their recent three-city road trip, the Twins have a fresh perspective on Major League Baseball's minor-league issues as the weather heats up. From Tampa's oppressive heat and humidity to its poor outfield lighting and short foul poles to a batter's box in Sacramento multiple players described as akin to hitting on cement and a rigid pitcher's mound that's drawn the ire of hurlers across the league, the Twins experienced the full range of challenges these parks present in playing seven away games against the Rays and A's since May 26. Correa's experience with the batter's box represents one of the bigger hardships Twins players faced during their minor-league adventure. 'It's the worst box I've ever stepped in,' Correa said. 'I like (the park). The ball travels very well. The facilities are good. They did it right. The plate is the only problem. … I'm not going to sacrifice two months of my season because of a couple of at-bats here.' How the clubhouses at both temporary stadiums are arranged isn't an issue. But the playing conditions are a different story. In Sacramento, the dirt and the disconnected dugouts create difficulties for the home and visiting players. Both teams' clubhouses are located beyond the left-field fence at the ballpark, which means players and trainers are often commuting across the field between innings. Advertisement Athletics pitcher Luis Severino voiced his frustration with his home stadium last month. During a typical start, Severino reportedly likes to retreat to the clubhouse between innings to watch film and move around, something he can't do at Sutter Health Park. This season, Severino, who signed a multi-year contract with the A's in free agency, has a 0.87 road ERA and a 6.99 ERA at home. Before their four-game series began Monday, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli joked about how awkward it would be to get ejected, as he did in Seattle on Saturday night. Noting fans described the potential scenario as a walk of shame, Baldelli suggested he'd be worried about how his stride would look with such a long walk. Still, Baldelli determined if an ejection occurred, he'd make the most of it. 'It's the march of triumph,' he said. The batter's box and mound, which are pored over by the grounds crew daily to handle a combined 156-game schedule for the Athletics and Triple-A River Cats, also have been heavily criticized for their firmness. When he pitched in Sacramento on May 24, Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler struggled to dig a hole on the mound in front of the rubber with his foot because of the hard clay used. Wheeler said he couldn't 'get into the dirt to drive' through his pitches, which left him throwing 'all arm.' Wheeler's phrasing stuck with Twins pitcher Joe Ryan, who wondered aloud if a firm mound played a role in the significant injury suffered by teammate Pablo López this week in Sacramento. Coming off a daytime start in which he pitched in 100-degree temperatures in Tampa, López suffered a Grade 2 teres major muscle strain on Tuesday and is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. Ryan is perplexed by how a teammate as fit and process-oriented as López — 'he spends hours a day (warming up) to go play catch' — could suffer such an injury. Advertisement 'The first thing I thought of was Wheeler saying, 'I was all arm when I was here,'' Ryan said. 'Does that play into that? Someone was mentioning it. We're in the big leagues and we have these amenities for a reason. It's to get prepared and go inside if you need to for a second. Whatever your routine is, you can't do that here. You can't do that in Tampa. As (Lopez's) teammate, it makes it sting a little bit more. I don't think Pablo is the kind of guy that's going to say (the mound was the issue), but I'll say it.' During his May 28 start in Tampa, López called a timeout in the first inning for groundskeepers to fix the mound. Ryan also took issue with the mound in Tampa and said it was much different than the one he warmed up on in the bullpen before his start. 'Tampa was a fricking sh– box and they have a massive mound in the bullpen before,' Ryan said. 'It's a huge contrast.' According to players, the issues in Tampa — which is scheduled to be used by the Rays for only the 2025 season after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field last September and caused massive flood damage — include poor outfield lighting, a short porch in right field and short foul poles. The miniature poles likely cost Aaron Judge a home run in an April 20 game as the ball appeared to incorrectly be ruled foul. Poor lighting seemed to hamper Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach's ability to track fly balls in a May 26 loss to the Rays. 'I could see better at Tampa at the beginning of the game and then at night it was really difficult for me,' Larnach said. '(In a regular park), the lights are bright and you see the ball a tad bit better, whether it be in the outfield, at the plate or whatever.' Lighting doesn't seem to be an issue at Sutter Health Park, which has a berm beyond the fence in right field with trees that offers fans a unique way to catch a major-league game. But the lack of a third deck in both stadiums allows wind to impact the ball in different ways. The ball carries extremely well in Sacramento, which Baseball Savant ranks as tops in the majors — tied with the Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards — in Park Factor, meaning it is the most hitter-friendly park in baseball. Advertisement Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler hit a three-run homer Monday, a 100.9-mph, 28-degree fly ball, which Ryan and Byron Buxton swore would have been an out at the Twins' home ballpark, Target Field. However, Buxton also benefitted at the plate as the wind turned what likely would have been an out into a two-run double. By comparison, Steinbrenner Field currently is playing as a neutral venue, according to Baseball Savant's Park Factor. 'Big-league stadiums, you don't have the ball dancing like these balls are moving here,' Buxton said of Sacramento. 'My double, fly out, wind takes it, almost takes it out and it's like, 'What?' … (Butler's) ball, I'm (normally) catching at the warning track.' Players described the wind in Tampa as swirling and unpredictable. Twins outfielder Willi Castro raced toward the left-field foul line during a May 27 game, only for the wind to spin the ball back into play — well out of his grasp — for a double. Even the view of left field from the visiting dugout in Tampa is deceiving. From his perch atop the dugout, Baldelli couldn't see any plays that occurred in left field. The park's configuration is such that the visiting dugout juts out into the field of play with the left-field foul pole situated about 15 feet behind where Baldelli stands. 'Every ball that's hit down the left-field line, we think it's foul by like 100 feet,' Baldelli said. 'It looks like it's foul off the bat, like the hitters not even hitting it, and it's getting blown up, and they're fair.' Both parks are expected to heat up like a microwave as summer arrives. The heat issues in Tampa are concerning enough that MLB scheduled the Rays away from home for a 10-game road trip in July and a 12-gamer to the West Coast in August. Despite pitching at night in Tampa on May 27, Twins starter Chris Paddack went through four baseball caps and jerseys as well as multiple undershirts. For the teams' May 28 day game, the temperature was sweltering as Twins players scrambled for minimal shade in the visiting dugout. Advertisement 'I was sweating a ton right after (batting practice),' Twins infielder Royce Lewis said. 'Sweating through batting gloves and stuff. The heat for some guys definitely played a part. To stand out in the sun for hours is depleting.' Still, it's not all bad. Although the layout of the visitors locker room, weight room and cafeteria at Steinbrenner Field is unlike almost any other ballpark in the majors, the two batting cages for visiting teams were lauded by nearly every Twins hitter. Staffers also noted there was ample space to perform their different activities. 'We're finding our bearings,' Baldelli said. 'We're finding meeting rooms and weight rooms. It's not set up where it's all in one space, like guys are typically used to, but it's nothing that we can't get familiar with and figure out.' Similarly, players raved about the behind-the-scenes setup at Sutter Health Park. Multi-million dollar offseason upgrades at the stadium included a renovated visiting clubhouse, a revamped scoreboard and a new playing surface. Though MLB originally wanted the Athletics and River Cats to play on synthetic turf, a decision was made to use real grass. Buxton described the outfield grass as playing faster than the grass at most parks, while Baldelli described the turf as squishy. Stadium officials plan to re-sod the playing surface during the middle of July to help combat dead spots during a stretch where temperatures are expected to soar above 100 degrees. As much as each stadium has its drawbacks, nothing compares to Sacramento's hard dirt, several Twins hitters said. Throughout their four-game series, Twins hitters could be seen slipping in the batter's box when swinging at pitches. 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Fox News
29 minutes ago
- Fox News
Twin sister of Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell dead at 18, police say
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Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Giants using a swashbuckling approach to turnovers: ‘Be a damn pirate'
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