The 2019-20 NBA season has given us another round of exciting rookies. There’s Zion Williamson, who’s always ready to put up a highlight finish, Ja Morant, a long, explosive, and athletic point guard, RJ Barrett, an aggressive scorer from everywhere on the floor, and Kendrick Nunn, an undrafted guard who has won every Rookie of the Month award in the Eastern Conference.

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is probably well aware of all of them, but to him, he’s all about hyping his rookie teammate: Rui Hachimura.

Beal was on Zach Lowe’s ‘The Lowe Post’ podcast earlier this week, and compared his first-year teammate to one of the league’s marquee names.

“He’s not Kawhi [Leonard], but he plays like him … He has a high ceiling. He’s not really a four. We can really make him into a three. We can make him into a playmaker. He can post up smaller guys. He can guard bigger guys. He’s very versatile in a lot of ways. I love him. He’s a workhorse. I don’t know who he’s really comparable to, because his ceiling’s that high.”

Bradley Beal talks about Rui Hachimura’s game

Hachimura was the ninth pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. He came out of the national powerhouse Gonzaga University, where he played for three seasons and was the Bulldogs’ main option and inside presence.

The Japanese-born rookie had the Wizards’ trust right from the get go. He started in all of his 41 games this season and was getting 29.7 minutes of action per contest, thanks in good part to being able to play multiple positions. He posted solid numbers of 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in his first 25 games, a stretch that includes four 20-plus point games and a career-high 30-point performance against, interestingly enough, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.

A groin injury kept him out from December 18th to January 31st, but he was able to get in rhythm as soon as he returned. Prior to the league’s hiatus, Hachimura was sixth among rookies in points and third in rebounds per game.

It’s always good to see stars give praise and generate buzz for their rookies as it furthers the youngster’s confidence. Beal has established himself as an elite scorer in the league (30.5, 2nd) and should be a good mentor to Hachimura.

The Wizards are one of the top offenses this season (115.6 PPG, 6th) but they are atrocious defensively (119.7 PAPG, 29th), hence their 24-40 record. Beal even addressed it in the podcast and flat-out said they “can’t guard a grandma.” If they improve on that inefficiency, especially once John Wall comes back, they can and will make a lot of noise again in the East.