Published 11:00 a.m. PT April 15, 2025

The Los Angeles Lakers have arguably the best superstar duo in the NBA today in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Beyond that, now that Austin Reaves is playing at an All-Star level with season averages of 20.2 points and 5.8 assists a game, they have a legitimate "Big Three' that will be very difficult for opponents to deal with in the upcoming playoffs.

The three have overshadowed starting forward Rui Hachimura a bit. He's the team's fourth-leading scorer at 13.1 points per game, and he's a very efficient scorer, as his 50.9% overall field-goal percentage and 41.3% 3-point shooting accuracy would suggest. But sometimes the Lakers seem to forget about him and don't utilize him offensively, despite his ample offensive skills.

Matthew Ogden of Lake Show Life pointed out an interesting stat that could mean Hachimura is a "barometer" player as far as Los Angeles is concerned.

"Between his energy on both ends of the floor and his efficient touch as a shooter, Hachimura has helped set the tone and emerge as something of a glue guy," Ogden wrote.

"The most important statistic on Hachimura's résumé, however, is his 9.8 field goal attempts per game. It may seem like a relatively inconsequential number, but it's actually come to define the Lakers' season—or, more specifically, their success.