It seems the Miami Heat have done it again.
The Heat are notorious for finding the diamonds in the rough when it comes to getting new talent to bolster their roster during the offseason wether it is through the NBA draft or finding an undrafted free agent whose been lingering in the NBA’s minor league, the G League. The Heat have struck gold in the past with players such as Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, and Max Strus. Players Who had NBA talent but were overlooked and landed in the Heats lap and helped the Heat to deep playoff runs and trips to the Finals in 2020 and 2023
This past offseason the Heat drafted Jaime Jacquez Jr. with the 18th overall pick in the NBA draft. Jaime was a solid player coming out of UCLA averaging 17.8 points a game and 8 rebounds a game for his senior season with the Bruins and ended his collegiate career being a Pac 12 player of the year, 2-time first team all Pac-12, 2-time Pac-12 all-defensive team and a consensus second team all American. Jacquez was touted as a physical scorer who can defend at a high level, though with these high remarks he was projected to only land as a late first round pick or early second round pick by sports illustrated.
Many believed that Jaime would fight for minutes after being drafted and only being limited to one full summer league game due to a shoulder injury in his second game but in that one game Jaime showed why the Heat selected him with the 18th overall pick. Jaime in his first summer league game dropped a team high of 22 points on 8-15 shooting from the field, along with 3 rebounds and one assist.
Fighting for minutes is the least of Jaime’s worries as he is 3rd in the league for all rookies averaging 29.8 minutes per game.
When on the floor, Jaime proves to be a top rookie in a year that includes rookies Spurs Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren and Hornets Brandon Miller. Jacquez is third in his class when it comes to minutes per game, an impressive feat as he is the only rookie in that group that comes off the bench for his team. In those minutes, Jaime is averaging 13.4 ppg (4th amongst rookies) and 1.1 steals (tied 1st), his strong play on the court awarded him back-to-back rookie of the month accolades for November and December.
Jaime has become an important piece to the Heats success this season as they are 20-9 when he scores 10 or more points, 19-11 when he has 1 or more steals for the game and 9-6 when he is called to be a starter
His play is what general manager Andy Ellisburg hoped for. As reported on Sun-Sentinel, When Ellisburg spoke of Jacquez during an interview with WQAM during summer league he said, “I think he’s our type of guy,” Ellisburg continued. “I think he comes from the same kind of ethos that we think we value, with players that we value. He has that kind of competitiveness and the work ethic that you want to see.”
As the season goes on, it will be exciting to see how Jaime will continue to shape his game, especially under the wing of Heat superstar Jimmy Butler.
You can catch Jaime in the 2024 Rising Stars Challenge and the Dunk Contest during this year’s NBA All-Star Break.
