Photo/Illutration Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura scores his first points in the NBA during a game against the Dallas Mavericks in October 2019. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Bulked up and stronger after a long hiatus, Rui Hachimura is ready to carry the Washington Wizards on his back as the 2019-2020 NBA season prepares to restart.

The standout rookie will need to, as the Wizards' lineup will be severely depleted by injuries and a key player choosing to sit out. 

“I want to finish my rookie season strong so that I can move on to the next stage,” said Hachimura, prior to the season's restart on July 30. 

The National Basketball Association suspended the 82-game season in mid-March, after several players tested positive for the novel coroavirus.

On June 26, the league and players agreed to a plan to resume the season with 22 teams playing for playoff seeding. 

Most of the teams will play 72 or 73 games after the eight seeding games are added to their regular-season game total before the playoffs begin in mid-August.

All games will be played behind closed doors inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, known as the “NBA bubble.”

For Hachimura, the four-and-a-half-month break was a blessing in disguise.

Due to a groin injury, he was sidelined for about six weeks from December.

“I always wanted to spend some time building up my body, so I wasted no time,” Hachimura said in early July.

He focused on weight training at a team’s practice facility during the season's suspension, packing on about 4.5 kilograms, he said.

Hachimura ranked second in rebounding and third in scoring for the young Washington team. However, the Wizards struggled to a 24-40 record and currently in ninth in the Eastern Conference.

There is ample room for further improvement both as a team and as an individual, Hachimura admitted.

“I want to play more aggressively,” he said before traveling to Orlando.

For Washington to make the playoffs, the rookie must take a leadership role and elevate his game in the scoring department.

Bradley Beal, the Wizards’ All-Star shooting guard, suffered a shoulder injury and will sit out the restart of the season.

That means somebody needs to pick up the scoring slack for Beal, who was averaging 30.5 points per game.

Davis Bertans, the team’s second leader scorer who will become a free agent this fall, has opted out of the season’s restart.

John Wall, a five-time All-Star veteran, will also remain sidelined due to a torn left Achilles tendon that he suffered in early 2019.

Naturally, all eyes in the capital are on Hachimura, and he is eager to take on the role and responsibility.

Hachimura said he has worked on his shooting, especially from behind the three-point line.

“The more I practice, the more I get better at it. I feel much more confident,” Hachimura said on July 11 in the bubble.

Wizards’ head coach Scott Brooks is counting on the rookie to step up.

“He is going to get a great opportunity to have a bigger role and it’s about leading,” Brooks said on July 19 after a practice session in the bubble.

Hachimura said he is up for the challenge.

“I want to lead the team with my performance," he said. "We are a young team. We will play aggressively as a challenger."