Arab News Japan

Japan’s Rui Hachimura could be playing alongside NBA superstar LeBron James after the 24-year-old was traded from Washington Wizards to Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a player and several second-round draft picks.

The announcement was made by both the NBA teams.

The Lakers are believed to have signed Hachimura to a contract extension.

Currently in his fourth season in the NBA, Hachimura has appeared in 30 games, none as a starter, for the Wizards this season, averaging 13 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Hachimura was picked by the Wizards in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft out of Gonzaga University, becoming the first Japanese-born player ever to be selected in the first-round draft of the professional basketball league in North America.

Hachimura is in the final year of his rookie contract, and after the end of this season, he will be a restricted free agent, according to ESPN.

The 203-centimeter, 104-kilogram Hachimura is from Toyama Prefecture, central Japan. He was born to a Japanese mother and father from the West African nation of Benin. He entered Gonzaga University after graduating from Meisei High School in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan.