Around this point last year, Miami Heat wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. was labeled a “proud young warrior,” by Heat president Pat Riley after playing a team-most 75 games after only Bam Adebayo played at least 70 games for a team riddled with injuries. Jaquez finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and looked like a foundational piece for an up-and-coming core after being drafted No. 18 overall in the 2023 draft.
Sophomore slumps happen to rookies around the league, but it hit Jaquez like a train. The 23-year-old appeared in 66 games, but his role in the rotation fluctuated due to inconsistent play. He wasn’t always healthy, but there was a considerable step back in on-court production relative to the promising flashes we saw in his rookie season.
Jaquez addressed how difficult this season was for him during his end-of-season press conference Wednesday, offering an insightful perspective.
“I think it was an extremely humbling experience,” Jaquez said. “Sometimes, things don’t go your way. And sometimes, only after, do you realize why that had happened to you. I think it was just a learning experience for myself and an opportunity to learn and just grow and get better as a basketball player and as a man.
“Sometimes you need that in your life, to just be humbled and get set back to propel you forward.”
During his end-of-season presser, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed that there were seven combined instances of stomach illnesses and sprained ankles throughout the season.
“Every time he started to get rhythm, one of those events would happen,” Spoelstra said. “And then there’s ramp up, coming back. The team would change. And we already had four or five different changes within the team anyway, and then his role would have to change, and that’s a lot for a young player.
“You know what you want more than anything as a young player is consistency and clarity. ‘What’s my role, what’s expected of me?’ And that changed to a lot of those events.”
Jaquez averaged 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 46.1 percent shooting, including 31.1 percent from 3-point range and 75.4 percent from the free-throw line, nearly six percentage points worse than it was last year.
He struggled developing counters to his drives and defenses were consistently daring him to shoot 3s, which he did poorly. The defense wasn’t quite to the level it was last year and he didn’t look as spry as he did–which you could, in part, attest to his multiple ankle injuries.
Growth isn’t linear; just because Jaquez took a step back last season doesn’t mean he can’t make a gradual improvement next season. He will be up for an extension at the end of the next season, so one could expect a motivated Jaquez to prove any naysayers wrong.
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That may explain a lot about JJJ!’s season. He definitely deserves another chance somewhere. Miami has to get rid of some players and that may be determined by the market for these players. Wherever he ends up, I hope JJJ can have a bounce back season.
I never thought he would be a star, and very possibly not even a starter. But I felt he could be a solid bench player, bringing energy, defense, and maybe a little scoring (great cutter). I still feel the same.