Sunday’s matchup between the Wizards and Magic saw Rui Hachimura return to NBA action as he made his long awaited season debut. Hachimura had not appeared in a basketball game since the Tokyo Olympics where he represented the host nation. Hachimura seemed poised for a breakout NBA season after averaging 22.3 points and 6.7 rebounds this summer for the Japanese National Team. However, Rui did not return to the court at the start of this NBA season. The reason for this absence was due to personal reasons and Rui had to take time after rejoining the team to get into game shape. NBA fans are happy that Rui is back on the hardwood and hope that he is ok after his lengthy absence. In 14 minutes off the bench, Rui added 6 points and 3 rebounds. It will be interesting to see if Rui retains the starting role he once had with the Wizards before his absence.

For now, I would imagine Rui remains on the bench to add a spark to Washington’s second unit. It would also be very hard to bench power forward Kyle Kuzma right now. Acquired from Los Angeles this summer, the 26 year old has been red hot as of late and had a career game against the Magic. Kuzma had a team high 27 points and gathered a remarkable 22 rebounds. That is Kuzma’s career high in rebounds and his performance was enough to guide the Wizards to a 2 point victory in Orlando. Terrence Ross had a game high 32 for the Magic, but it was not enough to stop the Wizards.

Washington is now back to .500 on the season and hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night.