Washington Wizards first-round pick Rui Hachimura will sit out Japan's final two games of the FIBA World Cup, the country's governing body for basketball announced Thursday.
Hachimura, the Wizards, and the Japanese national program have been utilizing a load management plan intended to protect Hachimura's long-term health, though he was expected to play for the entire tournament.
The 21-year-old experienced knee discomfort and general fatigue during the World Cup, however, so the Wizards and Japan Basketball made the joint decision to shut down Hachimura for the remainder of the 32-team competition.
"While everyone had hoped for Rui to finish the World Cup with Team Japan, the Wizards and Japan Basketball believe it is best for Rui to not play the final two games and have a short period of rest before he must start NBA training camp with the Wizards, which begins only three weeks from now," the Japanese Basketball Association said in a statement.
"The Wizards and Japan Basketball will continue to work together on Rui's long-term development throughout the NBA season and leading into Rui's participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."
Hachimura is coming off a standout junior season at Gonzaga, during which he averaged 19.7 points on 59.1 percent shooting - including a 41.7 percent clip from distance - and earned consensus first-team All-American honors. The ninth overall pick in this year's draft also claimed the Julius Erving Award as the nation's top small forward.
Hachimura has arguably been Japan's best player at the World Cup thus far, averaging a team-high 13.3 points while adding 5.7 boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest.
"I love Team Japan," Hachimura said in a statement. "This was a difficult decision for the Wizards, Japan Basketball, and myself to make.
"I am still learning about my body and trust that the Wizards and Japan Basketball are doing everything they can to help me be the best I can be for the NBA season and the 2020 Olympics."
Japan already has a berth in the 2020 Toyko Games as the host country. The 48th-ranked nation went 0-3 in first-round play and will take part in the classification round for places 17-32 starting Saturday.
