SUMMARY
- The Miami Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. has emerged as one of the best rookies of this season.
- The Miami Heat selected the forward as the 18th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has emerged as one of the best rookies of this season. Lately, the Miami Heat have been relying more on his presence on the court than they initially did. The 22-year-old athlete initially did not play too many minutes on the floor until injuries became a major issue for his team. Jaquez was pushed further up the rotation and has started for nine games so far. He is certainly making a great run for becoming a top rookie this year.
The Heat selected the forward as the 18th overall pick in the 2023 Draft. Jaquez wasn’t the best prospect but he certainly had a lot of potential that the Heat recognized. However, before getting drafted into the league, Jaime had every intention to stay away from the City of Los Angeles. That also meant that he did not want to be part of either of the LA organizations.
The Clippers and Lakers have two of the most iconic teams over the years. Comparatively, the Lakers have a deeper history in the NBA and also hold the pride of lifting 17 championships. Several players dream of being a part of the organization solely based on the influence it has amongst basketball fans. Even players like Klay Thompson once dreamt of playing for the Lakers and at the Staple Center (now known as Crypto.com Arena). But surprisingly, not Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. spent four seasons playing at UCLA
You might be wondering why Jaime Jaquez Jr. did not want to be drafted by the Lakers or Clippers. The answer he gave was quite simple. According to the Miami Herald, he said, “I wanted to get away. I think for myself I thought it was important for me to be able to go out of my comfort zone and experience something new. I didn’t want to be a guy that said, ‘Oh, I just stayed in Southern California all my life.’”
Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. says he was happy the Lakers passed on him in the draft 🗣️
“I wanted to get away… I didn’t want to be a guy that said, ‘Oh, I just stayed in Southern California all my life’… I wanted to go live in a different, new place. And that’s why I was very… pic.twitter.com/Ujkm8A64wa
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 1, 2024
Jaime had spent four seasons playing for the University of California, Los Angeles. He competed for the UCLA Bruins and won a couple of big-time accolades. He continued, “I wanted to go live in a different, new place. And that’s why I was very excited to go to Miami. It was new. Everyone compares it [to Los Angeles], but I think it’s very, very different.” So it turns out, he simply wanted a change of environment.
During his time at UCLA, Jaime Jaquez Jr. became PAC-12 Player of the Year in 2023 for leading the Bruins to the Sweet Sixteen bracket of the NCAA tournament. He had two First-team All-PAC-12 selections, two PAC-12 All-Defensive Team selections, and a Second-team All-PAC-12 selection as well. Jaquez also won the Lute Olson Award in 2023. He also averaged 13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.