The Laker that LeBron James is taking under his wing, and is not Austin Reaves

Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship title and the team was looking to repeat it in 2021 only to crash and burn, the excitement for an upcoming season hasn't been as high as how things are looking for the 2023-24 campaign, especially after the moves pulled off by GM Rob Pelinka this offseason.

One of the players the fans are most excited about is the Japanese wing Rui Hachimura. Hachimura was one of the best parts of the team in the recent 2023 playoffs and with the work he has been putting up this summer, things only seem to be better.

But now apparently things got better, as it seems that the Lakers star LeBron James has taken Rui under his wing. A couple of weeks ago, a video was released with Rui Hachimura taking some shots while LeBron was close seeing him and giving him notes.

And now, a new picture has been leaked where LeBron seems to be back in Rochester, Minnesota alongside Rui and Phil Handy. Having James close to Rui Hachimura makes it exciting to have both players as a mentor and pupil kind of relationship within the team.

Rui Hachimura has been close to Phil Handy all offseason

Hachimura could be the most improved player of the Lakers for the next season as he hasn't stopped working out in the lab ever since the team got eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 playoffs.