Japanese rookie Rui Hachimura will wear No. 8 for the Washington Wizards, the NBA team said Wednesday.
The Wizards made the announcement on their official Twitter account, posting a photo of the 21-year-old forward wearing a jersey bearing the number along with his name.
[Copyright 2019 NBAE][NBAE/Getty/Kyodo]
Written in Japanese, Hachimura's name includes the kanji character for eight. "Hachi = 8 in Japanese," the team explained in a subsequent tweet.
Hachimura wore No. 21 at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington state, where he became a collegiate star over three seasons.
Speaking on the second day of the Wizards' mini-camp on Wednesday, the team's Summer League coach Robert Pack gave his first impressions of Hachimura.
"Rui's a guy that, you know, you can tell he knows how to play. He has good footwork, he wants to learn, he's asking questions," said Pack, an assistant coach with the franchise.
"I feel good about him being able to pick up a lot of the things early on and be able to (take that) into Summer League."
One of the concerns with Hachimura's game coming into the league is his ability to handle the basketball. When asked about his player's development in that area, Pack said he is ready to help.
[Copyright 2019 NBAE][NBAE/Getty/Kyodo]
"If I need to be the guy to get with Rui to work on his ball handling...that's definitely an area that I work with a lot and specialize in," said Pack, a former point guard who spent 13 seasons in the NBA.
"I'm sure I will at some point touch with him in terms of ball handling and decision making."
The Toyama Prefecture native, the ninth pick in the NBA draft, is expected to feature heavily for Washington at the NBA's Summer League starting next week in Las Vegas.
Related coverage:
Basketball: Rui Hachimura takes first NBA steps at Wizards' mini-camp
Basketball: Japan's Hachimura vows to bring energy to Washington
Basketball: Washington selects Rui Hachimura 9th in the NBA draft
