Washington Wizards: Rui Hachimura is poised for a big second year
Rui Hachimura is much younger than his age
Age is a crucial factor when evaluating prospects but so is a player’s developmental age. The rationale is simple, a 21-year-old who has never played basketball has more untapped potential than a 21-year-old that has been playing their entire life.
Hachimura’s basketball development has largely been in Japan where the quality of opponent and coaching lags behind the United States and Europe. As a result, his developmental age is younger than the number on his birth certificate. The question is; How much of a difference does that make for Hachimura’s progression?
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If Hachimura’s developmental age is a full two years younger than his actual age of 22 it portends an incredibly bright future (note: he spent most of the season as a 21-year-old). The list of teenagers to average 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 30.1 minutes a game is a star-studded lineup. While this is all hypothetical it stands to reason that Hachimura has more new tricks to learn than your average three-year college player.
Not to mention the adjustment to the speed of the game that all NBA rookies have to deal with. Hachimura’s precise developmental age is all speculative at this point but there is overwhelming evidence that it is younger than his actual age, which makes his rookie season even more promising.