Rui Hachimura To Star In Popular Anime Show

Rui Hachimura proved a valuable addition to the Lakers after they traded for the forward who had spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career.

Averaging 12.2 points in the postseason, Hachimura is a strong shooter from outside the arc, going 48.7 percent from three. As a bench player, Hachimura was able to provide a burst as the Lakers made it to the Western Conference Finals.

As he begins his second season with the purple and gold, Hachimura will be making his debut as an anime star.

Starring as a cartoon version of himself, the Japanese basketball star will be making an appearance in the anime series "Crayon Shin-chan" in an episode titled "The Adventures of Buri Buri Zaemon: Space Dunk Edition" when translated to English. 

"My family and I are big fans of Crayon Shin-chan," Hachimura said in a statement posted in Japanese on the TV Asahi website. "It was really fun."

(Via Los Angeles Times)

Hachimura was born in Japan and lived there until moving to the U.S. to play college basketball at Gonzaga.

The 6-foot-8 forward was signed to a three-year, $51-million contract in the offseason.