LeBron James becomes 'Mr.Miyagi' to Rui Hachimura, with Rob Pelinka noting their intense summer workouts together

Rui Hachimura was the first player acquired by LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka at the February trade deadline. Pelinka sent Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to the Washington Wizards to land the Japanese forward. In 33 games with the Lakers, nine of them as a starter, Hachimura averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds. Hachimura often mentioned LeBron James as one of his biggest motivators since moving to Hollywood.

Heading into training camp, Pelinka noted the close working relationship between James and Hachimura. He noticed how the Japanese had spent more time in training with the four-time MVP and how the former Wizard had benefited from the veteran.

“King James,” in response to Rob Pelinka’s post, tweeted a classic scene in the movie Karate Kid. The clip showed "Mr. Miyagi," played by Pat Morita, teaching "Daniel" (Ralph Macchio), a young American karate enthusiast, the finer points of said discipline.

The reference to the iconic movie is played in reverse in real life. LeBron James is American while Rui Hachimura is Japanese. Still, the essence in both situations remains the same. It's an age-old tale of the young buck learning from the grizzled master.

“King James” will be entering the 21st season of his career in October. Hachimura will be playing in just his fifth and his first full year with the LA Lakers. Rob Pelinka signed him to a three-year $51 million contract with the team in the offseason.

The ninth pick of the 2019 draft showed his value for the Lakers, particularly in the playoffs. He became a crucial part off the bench for coach Darvin Ham. In 16 postseason games, he averaged 12.2 points on a blistering 48.7% shooting from deep.

LA pulled off back-to-back wins over higher-ranked opponents in the playoffs. They beat the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the sixth-placed Golden State Warriors mainly because of LeBron James. Rui Hachimura was a key part of the supporting cast.

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Rui Hachimura is a versatile weapon that LeBron James can rely on

Part of what made Rui Hachimura important for the LA Lakers last season was his versatility. He sometimes played the power forward role when Darvin Ham wanted to play small ball. Hachimura lined up beside Anthony Davis in the frontline.

In the playoffs, Hachimura relieved LeBron James of some of the pressure on defense. The Japanese also helped guard Jaren Jackson Jr., Klay Thompson and Nikola Jokic.

On offense, Rui Hachimura’s blistering form from deep helped open up the defense of opponents. When he was on the floor, James and Davis had a little more room to operate in the paint. Hachimura was also a deadly weapon in fastbreaks.

After a full training camp and preseason, LeBron James will be able to utilize more of Hachimura’s versatility on both ends of the floor.