Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura addressed his knee condition Wednesday as the team prepares to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Hachimura, who missed most of March due to knee soreness, confirmed he is feeling much better heading into the postseason.
“It’s for sure better. It’s way better than what we talked about,” Hachimura said when asked about the progress of his injury, via Lakers Nation.
The 27-year-old has been a starter and is averaging 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per game this season.
He noted that improved rest between playoff games should help him stay available throughout the series.
“My knee’s getting better, I can jump now and all that,” Hachimura added. “Just gotta manage it and now we don’t have a back-to-back anymore. We saw the schedule, we have two days in between this series.”
The Lakers finished the regular season 50–32, earning the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, while Minnesota claimed the sixth seed at 49–33.
The Japanese forward also emphasized that his approach will be day-to-day, depending on how the knee responds after each game.
“Just probably each game as much as possible,” he said, referring to how the team plans to manage his workload.
Game 1 between the Lakers and Timberwolves is scheduled for Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
