LeBron James was Rui Hachimura’s biggest fan after Hachimura poured in a career-high in scoring in the Lakers’ win over the Jazz.

The Los Angeles Lakers have noticeably played at a much better level upon Rui Hachimura’s re-insertion into the starting five. On Wednesday night, with the Lakers slated to face the Utah Jazz sans LeBron James, who is getting a headstart on his All-Star break, Hachimura had a golden opportunity to cement himself as an even bigger game-changer for the Purple and Gold. That is exactly what he did.

In a 138-122 victory over the Jazz, Hachimura took advantage of the opportunity he had in front of him and dropped a career-high 36 points on an elite 13-19 shooting performance. With James out, the onus fell on Anthony Davis to lead the way, but Davis ended up receiving plenty of contributions from his teammates, none bigger than the effort Hachimura put in in what is the best game of his career to this point.

LeBron James, being the ultimate hype man that he is when he’s abounding with joy, immediately became Rui Hachimura’s biggest fan after a superstar-level performance to help fill the void left by his absence in, most importantly, a game that ended up being a victory for the Lakers.

“Lil bro going CRAZY tonight!!!!! YEEEAAAHHHH RUUUUUU🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️,” James wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

The past two games before his explosion against the Jazz was already portending a very bright imminent future for Rui Hachimura. He has been getting into a very healthy rhythm, and the Lakers playmakers have been actively seeking him out as a scoring option. In wins against the New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons, Hachimura averaged 18 points and 11.5 shot attempts, showing that he’s becoming more comfortable in his current role.

To those who have been watching the Lakers religiously, seeing Hachimura explode in the manner he did against the Jazz is simply the culmination of the progression the 26-year old forward has been making as he cements a prominent role in Darvin Ham’s rotation. Fans have been calling on Ham to give Hachimura more minutes than Taurean Prince, and Hachimura has delivered on more than one occasion now.

Just like last season, the Lakers appear to be righting the ship just in time for a playoff push. This time, however, one of the solutions to their problem was always sitting there, waiting to be found.