Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. ( born February 18, 2001) is a Mexican-American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Jaquez was named a consensus second-team All-American and voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023. He earned three All-Pac-12 selections, including first-team honors twice. Jaquez was also a two-time member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He was selected by the Heat in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft with the 18th overall pick. He is nicknamed ”Juan Wick” for his Mexican heritage and perceived resemblance to John Wick.

Early life and high school career
Jaquez is the son of Angela (née Sather) and Jaime Sr., who met while playing basketball at Concordia University. Jaquez is the third generation of his family to have played college basketball; his paternal grandfather, Ezequiel, who came to California with his family from Mexico as a child, played at Ventura Community College and Northern Arizona University.

Jaquez was born in Irvine, California, and has a younger brother Marcos and younger sister Gabriela. Jaquez grew up in Camarillo and attended Camarillo High School. As a freshman, he averaged 15.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.6 steals per game and led the team to a 25–7 record and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) semifinals. As a sophomore, Jaquez earned all-Ventura County second-team honors, averaging 24.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, despite missing 12 games with an ankle injury.

Jaquez averaged 31.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game as a senior and helped the team finish 25–4 and win its first Coastal Canyon League title. He earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section honors and finished his high school career with 2,653 points. Jaquez broke the school single-game scoring record with a 54-point outing against Royal High School. Jaquez was also a pitcher on the high school baseball team.

College career
Jaquez was recruited to the University of California, Los Angeles, by then-Bruins' coach Steve Alford, who offered him a scholarship at the end of his junior year. However, Alford was fired in 2018, replaced later by Mick Cronin, who had recruited Jaquez while coaching at Cincinnati. Jaquez did not seriously pursue another school, and remained committed to UCLA. He became a starter for the Bruins during the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in November 2019, after he scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds in a win against Chaminade on November 26. On December 1, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 93–64 win over San Jose State. He scored 18 points on February 27, 2020, and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining in a 75–72 win over Arizona State. As a freshman, Jaquez averaged 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He was named honorable mention Pac-12 All-Freshman team.

On February 18, 2021, Jaquez scored 25 points on his 20th birthday in a 74–60 win over Arizona, the Bruins' fifth straight in its rivalry with the Wildcats. For the season, he was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. In UCLA's First Four play-in game of the 2021 NCAA tournament, he led the Bruins in scoring with 27 points in a 86–80 overtime win against Michigan State. UCLA advanced to the Final Four, losing to Gonzaga.

In 2021–22, Jaquez was restricted by ankle injuries throughout most of the season. He suffered from synovitis in one ankle and began wearing braces on both ankles as a preventative measure. He bounced back from a three-game stretch in mid-February 2022 in which he scored a combined 13 points. On February 28, Jaquez scored a career-high 30 points in a 77–66 win over Washington. In the following game, he scored 27 points in the regular-season finale against USC, helping UCLA end its five-game losing streak in their crosstown rivalry with the Trojans. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 28.5 points on 64 percent shooting along with 7.5 rebounds, as the Bruins clinched the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 tournament. Jaquez was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and was voted again to the conference's defensive team. He was one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given to the top small forward in the country. In the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament, he scored 15 points in a 72–56 win over Saint Mary's, but exited the game and did not return after spraining his right ankle with seven minutes remaining in the second half. He was averaging 20.5 points in his last eight games, with the Bruins going 7–1. The stretch coincided with his being able to resume practicing, while UCLA's leading scorer, Johnny Juzang, was in a scoring slump. Jaquez recovered to play 38 minutes in the following game against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen, but the Bruins lost 73–66. He scored 10 points, shooting 1-for-11 in the second half and missing his final nine shots. Amid the injuries, Jaquez's 3-point shooting dropped to 27.6 percent. Along with needing surgery in April to remove bone spurs from his right ankle, he decided against declaring for the NBA draft, and returned to UCLA for his senior year.

For the second straight season, Jaquez was named a finalist for the Julius Erving Award in 2022–23. On February 4, 2023, he had a game-high 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a 76–52 win over Washington State. That month, he scored late baskets in multiple games to help lead the team to victories, including seven points in $3 1/2$ minutes as the Bruins secured a win over Utah. He led UCLA to their first Pac-12 regular season title since 2013. The Bruins received a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament. In the opener, Jaquez had 17 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high five steals in a 86–53 rout over No. 15-seed UNC Asheville. Losing two starters, Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark, due to injuries, UCLA suffered a 79-76 loss to Gonzaga in Sweet Sixteen. For the season, Jaquez averaged 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. He was named a consensus second-team All-American, and received the Lute Olson Award as the college player of the year. Jaquez was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year, becoming the first Bruin to win since Kevin Love in 2008 and the first UCLA senior to capture the award since Ed O'Bannon in 1995. He also earned his second consecutive first-team all-conference selection. After the season, Jaquez declared for the draft, forgoing the extra year of eligibility that was available due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended his career ranked eighth in UCLA history in career scoring (1,802) and career steals (178), and ninth in total games played (134).

Professional career
Considered a borderline first-round pick after college, Jaquez was invited to the green room of the 2023 NBA draft. He was selected by the Miami Heat with the eighteenth overall pick, the only Pac-12 player selected in the first round. He was the first UCLA senior selected in the first round since Darren Collison in 2009. On July 1, Jaquez officially signed with the Heat. Shortly after, he joined Miami for the 2023 Summer League, but played just two games before being sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Jaquez began the 2023–24 regular season on a minutes restriction following a preseason groin injury. On October 28, 2023, Jaquez made his first career start when he and second-year player Nikola Jović entered the lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, filling in for the absence of veterans Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love. Against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 8, Jaquez played the entire fourth quarter and made a game-clinching 3-pointer to extend Miami's lead from three to six with 18.4 seconds left in a 108–102 win. In the following game with Butler and Tyler Herro unavailable, he made his third start of the season, finishing with a then career high of 20 points in 39 minutes in a 117–109 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On December 4, Jaquez was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October/November. It marks the 10th time a Miami Heat rookie has won the honor and the fifth player to do so, joining Caron Butler (four times), Kendrick Nunn (three times), Josh Richardson and Michael Beasley. On December 25, Jaquez put up a career-high 31 points along with 10 rebounds in a 119–113 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 4, Jaquez earned his second consecutive Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December.

Jaquez was selected to the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend's Rising Stars Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest.

National team career
Jaquez played for the Mexican national team as a Mexican-American dual citizen in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

College
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Personal life
Jaquez's sister Gabriela, who shared MVP honors at the 2022 McDonald's All-American Girls Game, committed to joining the UCLA women's basketball team as part of its 2022–23 freshman class. In 2024, Gabriela joined the UCLA Bruins softball team to provide depth as they made a run in the 2024 Women's College World Series. His brother Marcos became a defensive lineman for Camarillo High's football team.

Jaquez is of Mexican descent through his father, and Norwegian descent through his mother.