Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura was recently asked which player on the team was the best mentor for him.

“There’s a lot, but obviously Brad (Beal) is a guy I’m always looking at,” Hachimura said. “I talk to him about basketball and off the court, everything. He’s a great leader of the team. I think it’s good to see, even at practice, I can watch him and how hard he works … He’s not much of a talking guy. He shows. Whatever he’s doing, I can see…He’s the guy I always look at.”

Hachimura was also asked about what player inspired him when he first got into basketball.

“I watched a lot of Carmelo Anthony,” Hachimura said. “He was my guy when I started playing basketball. I watched his footsteps and his pull-up shot. That why I think I have a pull-up now, because I watched him a lot. He’s obviously a big guy, 6’8” and a power forward or small forward. I watched him a lot when I was a kid … he was one of the (hardest players to guard all season).”

The 22-year-old is using this time off the court to watch film in order to grow as a player, just as he did when he missed 23 games with a groin injury during the season.