As the Miami Heat continue their build towards a younger roster that hopes to compete by being a "strength in numbers" type of roster rather than having one true star, one player who seems to have been forgotten about this summer is Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The No. 18 pick from the 2023 NBA Draft from UCLA had a nice rookie season, and it looked like Miami had uncovered a gem. Then Jaquez Jr. stayed stagnant during the 2024-25 season, and some of the good vibes started to fade.
But if Jaquez Jr. can take any kind of step forward in 2025-26, Miami's roster might be far deeper than advertised.
Miami is hoping Jamie Jaquez Jr. takes a step forward in 2025-26
For being the No. 18 pick, Jaquez Jr. did great during his rookie season. He averaged 11.9 points per game off 48% shooting and had a +/- average of 1.4 points per game.
But for whatever reason, Jaquez Jr. just never took the next step for his sophomore campaign.
His minutes dipped to eight minutes less per game, and even though his defensive rating actually went up last year, he finished the year with an average +/- of -2.3 points per game.
It was the worst +/- on the team among any Heat players who played at least 50 games.
What seems to hold Jaquez Jr. back the most is his catch-and-shoot ability. He seldom creates off the dribble when shooting from deep, but for a guy who is 6'6", he seems to struggle if anyone is anywhere near him.
Last year, Jaquez Jr. shot 26% from three if a defender was within 4-6 feet, which the NBA classifies as open.
But when he was considered "wide open" and didn't have anyone within six feet, he still only shot 36%.
For context, Tyler Herro was 47% on "wide open" threes.
He is a capable driver to the rim, and while his 53% shooting percentage from inside ten feet lags behind guys like Herro and Pelle Larsson, he is much closer to the pack in this category.
It all paints a picture that if Jaquez Jr. can get any evolution to his game and get any kind of standard progression in year three, he can morph into a very solid contributor for the Heat in 2025-26.