Opening night NBA Sixth Man of the Year rankings
By Ian Levy
3. Rui Hachimura, Los Angeles Lakers
Hachimura was essential to the Lakers' playoff run and, in the process, earned himself a hefty new contract this summer. However, he's going to begin the season coming off the bench, with Darvin Ham reportedly preferring Taurean Prince's defense in the starting lineup and Hachimura's offense game helping anchor the second unit.
I am, admittedly, a bit concerned that his postseason shooting has been overvalued. Hachimura shot under 30 percent from beyond the arc in the 33 regular season games after getting traded to the Lakers and has made just 34.4 percent of his career 3-pointers. But he hit a whopping 48.7 in the postseason last year and helped open up everything for the Lakers' offense.
Hachimura was working out with LeBron James this summer, and reportedly has his earned his trust and support. The rest of his offensive tools — the pull-up mid-range game, the ability to face-up against bigger players and back down smaller ones — don't really have an established track record either. But LeBron and the Lakers are sold and if he can get buckets off the bench for aguably the highest-profile team in the league he should absolutely have a shot at this award.