Lakers' LeBron James Praises 'Super Competitor' Rui Hachimura Ahead of NBA Playoffs

As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for Tuesday's play-in tournament matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it appears that swingman Rui Hachimura will be an integral part of the team's strategy.

Hachimura is coming off a strong performance in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz in which he scored 12 points off the bench and played nearly the entire fourth quarter while providing excellent defense to help Los Angeles secure a 128-117 victory.

The 25-year-old has earned the confidence of Lakers star LeBron James, who told Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times that he's been impressed with Hachimura during their time as teammates:

"Just a super competitor. He wants to be great. He wants to be held accountable. He's always asking me what he can do better to help this team, how he can be better to help this team. Cause he wants to.

"I feel like we complement each other very well, along with AR [Austin Reaves] ... Rui, the more minutes, when he knows he's going to play, when he gets that routine of consistency, he shows what he's capable of doing."

Hachimura was acquired by the Lakers in January from the Washington Wizards. In his 33 appearances with the team, he's averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game. However, it appears that he's gotten more comfortable in his role recently, as he averaged 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds through five games in the month of April.

The Lakers will need contributions from multiple players to help support James and Anthony Davis if they hope to make a deep playoff run this year, and Hachimura looks ready to continue producing at a high level when called upon.