LOS ANGELES – In his third season with the Washington Wizards, Rui Hachimura remains one of the quietest players on the roster.

The former Gonzaga standout watches games stoically when he’s not playing, dialed into the action from his spot near the end of the bench. He wilts midway through long news conferences, as if his body physically rejects the idea of revealing his personal thoughts. When he was asked after practice last week about one particularly joyful looking on-court moment, Hachimura answered, “It’s a very natural thing for me, having fun, playing basketball.”

Kawhi Leonard couldn’t reach an affect so flat.

While Hachimura’s shy nature is more natural disposition and less an indication of his happiness, it does make moments such as one after the Wizards’ shoot-around at UCLA on Wednesday stand out.

Hours before Washington’s game against the Clippers, the forward was seated next to the bubbly Anthony Gill, who had nabbed Kyle Kuzma’s jewel-encrusted sunglasses as a gag. Hachimura got Kuzma’s attention while Gill was mugging it up for a selfie. Kuzma acknowledged the pair with a wry smile, like an older brother placating a pair of middle-schoolers. Hachimura and Gill, appropriately, dissolved into giggles.

Twenty-three games into the most fractured season of Hachimura’s young career, here was a portrait of the third-year pro: relaxed, happy, confident around his teammates (at least with no cameras in the vicinity). In return, the Wizards have found themselves with a surprise 3-point shooting machine – at least temporarily – who still, according to Wes Unseld Jr., fits into the franchise’s long-term vision. Washington has always wanted Hachimura to be a dynamic offensive threat with the physical ability and know-how to guard all five positions on defense.

The Wizards have made Hachimura’s confidence a priority since he informed the team he needed a mental health break at the start of the season. They had his confidence in mind when they allowed him to ramp up slowly before his return; it remains a priority for Unseld in that the coach has yet to unfurl the entire playbook for the 24-year-old. The Wizards are trying to set up Hachimura for success.

Their plan is paying dividends from the 3-point line.

Coming off the bench for the first time in his career, the former first-round pick is shooting 50.8% from beyond the arc while shooting roughly the same volume as last season, 2.3 attempts per game. His 3s were helping him average 9.2 points in 18.9 minutes per game. Hachimura doesn’t credit some mechanical adjustment or extra hours in the gym.

“For me, it’s more confidence,” he said. “I’m more confident shooting 3s.”

Although his teammates are thrilled with this development, Hachimura insists that his offensive game still lives within the midrange. He labored away for 13.8 points per game in the 2020-21 season and 13.5 in 2019-20 hitting floaters inside the arc.

Hachimura’s reluctance to lean into 3-point shooting only makes Unseld more excited. No one is forcing Hachimura to launch 3-pointers – the forward is simply plucking the good shots that come his way without hesitation.

“Spatially, he’s getting himself in the right spots. The ball finds him,” Unseld said. “So we’re encouraging him to take those shots. But I’m not telling him not to shoot midrange. We just don’t want those shots early in the clock, and we certainly don’t want him off multiple dribbles and (isolation plays). There’s times for that, opportunities for that late in the shot clock, but if you’re spaced correctly and the ball finds you, you’re doing the right thing by stepping up and knocking those down.”

But Hachimura’s selling point has always been defense, and in that regard, Unseld is still looking for progress. Hachimura is even less of a presence on the glass than he was in seasons past, averaging 3.1 rebounds per game on a team that struggles to rebound up and down the roster.

The forward’s next big leap will be more mental than physical – he must learn NBA personnel better.

“Not only knowing his matchup but knowing all four, five spots,” Unseld said. “Because if we’re switching, you’re going to have a new matchup every possession.”

Hachimura is comfortable after his late start to the year. He has his pregame routine in place, and his teammates are encouraging him to be even more aggressive on offense given his 3-point outburst. The Wizards are enjoying the new dimension his long-range shooting brings to the second unit and are confident they will be able to use his versatility on both ends of the court, even as roles on the roster shift thanks to the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis

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“Every game I feel like he’s gotten better,” guard Bradley Beal said. “He’s not doing anything out of the ordinary. He plays hard, does his job and he competes. That’s all you can always ask out of Rui.”