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Rui Hachimura is preparing for his first Christmas Day game, as his team, the LA Lakers, will take on the Boston Celtics on Monday. The Japanese forward shared his excitement about playing on Christmas for the first time in his career but was disappointed after finding out that there would be no special jerseys for this game.
The NBA hasn't brought Christmas Day jerseys back yet, and Hachimura was let down after being told he will wear a regular Lakers jersey for the Dec. 25 showdown.
Meanwhile, NBA fans took to social media and shared their support, urging the league to bring the Christmas Day jerseys back.
"Nike dropping the ball big time," a fan wrote on X.
"Even Rui knows the NBA needs to bring back the Christmas jerseys," another commented.
"Gotta love rui man if u trade him we riot," a Lakers fan wrote.
"They should definitely have a special Christmas jersey."
"Black Mamba jerseys!"
"BRING BACK CHRISTMAS JERSEYS."
"Same Rui. Same."
"I love rui!"
Rui Hachimura wants to get back his rhythm and find his spot on Lakers' rotation amid injury woes
Like several of his teammates, Rui Hachimura has been part of the Lakers' injury report a few times. The 17-time NBA champions have been dealing with injuries to key players since the start of the season, which has created many chemistry issues.
Hachimura recently talked about missing games due to injuries and admitted needing time to get back on track and find his spot on the rotation.
"Yeah, I’m just trying to get back to my rhythm," Hachimura said. "Playing a long time, of course, it’s gonna help me in the long term, and yeah, today, I think defensively was the key for me. We did a pretty good job on Towns, but the other guys on their team were scoring pretty good. I think we fought through the whole game, so it was good."
The Japanese forward has appeared in 21 of the Lakers' first 30 games, averaging 12.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 1.2 apg on 40.0% from beyond the arc.
Now, he is focusing on the Christmas Day showdown against the Boston Celtics and is excited about the game.
"My first time. I've been dreaming about it. I'm excited," Hachimura said. "Are we going to have jerseys or no? Like a Christmas jersey?"
The Los Angeles franchise snapped a four-game losing skid on Saturday and improved to 16-14 in the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, the Celtics are on top of the East, sharing an NBA-best 22-6 record with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
