Rui Hachimura joins Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are all in for making fun of Laker’s new signing Rui Hachimura. On one hand, one of the legends says he has no idea who the player is and on the other hand, one is happy making fun of his name.
Shaquille O’Neal is known to be corny when he mentions the players who haven’t done anything in terms of accolades. He shows his respect to those who have given something to the sport of basketball. He recently admitted that he had no idea who Rui Hachimura was before the Lakers’ signed him.
“Albert Einstein said things you can get access to you should never memorize,” O’Neal said. “If you ain’t a top 10 player, I don’t know who you are, that’s no disrespect. How am I supposed to know who the kid was? I’m not watching the Bullets or the Wizards.”
Charles Barkley was on TNT’s Tip-Off when he congratulated the Los Angeles Lakers’ for their trade with the Washington Wizards. While naming their signing, he deliberately misspelt Rui Hachimura as ‘Hoochimama’
These comments bought a lot of backlash for Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley as the fans were excited to see Rui Hachimura play for the Lakers. One fan named Kaleb Earls called Shaq a hater.
He tweeted, “Shaq a big time casual for making this comment. Rui is the first Japanese basketball player in NBA history to be selected in first round. What a hater.”
He added, “To be a former Laker, you would think he would show love to a 24-year-old kid but he always has to be the “funny” guy.”
Rui Hachimura is a Japanese international who was picked up by the Washington Wizards as the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft. He came into Los Angeles in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks (in 2023, 2028 and 2029)
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