Coming off a catastrophic sophomore slump, even Hollywood’s best screenwriter couldn’t have written a better script for third-year Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. entering the 2025-26 season campaign.
Through seven games, Jaquez is averaging 19.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 60.3 percent from the floor with an absurd 65.3 true shooting percentage. His jump shooting has still left plenty to be desired, though the 6-foot-6 wing has more than made up for it with his finishing around the rim, which has been one of the NBA’s best.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been one of the NBA’s best finishers, albeit in a small sample:
Jaquez has been arguably the team’s biggest beneficiary of their new up-tempo offense. As I outlined in my film breakdown of his start, he’s getting downhill with ease and is being far less predictable than he was a year ago, when he would spin as much as a merry-go-round.
To go along with his aggressiveness, Jaquez’s feathery touch has been efficient.
Of the 50 players who have attempted at least 30 shots inside the restricted area, Jaquez is shooting 85.0 percent (34-40), second to only Charlotte Hornets rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner (32-37), according to NBA.com’s shot tracking data:
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, Hornets — 86.5 percent (32-37)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., Heat — 85.0 percent (34-40)
- Isaiah Hartenstein, Thunder — 81.8 percent (27-33)
- Ryan Rollins, Bucks — 81.3 percent (26-32)
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs — 81.0 percent (34-42)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks — 80.4 percent (74-92!!!)
That’s not bad company, right?!?
Obviously, in this very small sample, those numbers aren’t sustainable. But any number north of 65 percent — his career high rim accuracy, which he set as a rookie, according to Cleaning The Glass — over a full season would be huge in Miami’s newfangled pace-and-space offense.
Forget finishing: The Heat couldn’t get to the rim for the life of them last year. They attempted the seventh-fewest shots at the rim with the eighth-worst efficiency. So far, the Heat have the 12th-most rim attempts with the third-best efficiency!
Once again, I don’t expect the latter — a 75.3 percent clip — to be sustainable; for perspective, the Phoenix Suns led the NBA in rim accuracy last year … at 71.4 percent.
Nonetheless, how the Heat have generated — and, most importantly, finished — offense in the paint has been very encouraging. With or without Tyler Herro, as they continue to face better point-of-attack defenses, I’ll be very curious to see how it shakes out.
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Jaquez is Mexican-American and grew up in the L.A. area and went to school at UCLA. Talk about a marketing money maker.
I bet the Lakers are kicking themselves in the @$$ after Sunday’s game for picking Jalen Hood-Schifino at #19 ahead of Jaquez who Miami selected at #20. Jalen Hood-Schifino was huge abust. He is currently an unrestricted free agent after the Philadelphia 76ers declined to extend a qualifying offer. He was previously on a two-way contract with the 76ers during the 2024-2025 season.
His play has definitely surprised a lot of people. I’m one of them. The faster pace has done wonders for his game. I’m hoping it has the same effect on Herro’s.
Yup, I believed he would bounce back, but this has been pretty amazing.
Those stats are very impressive for Jaime. Only Ryan Rollins approaches the same level of touch and accuracy in finishing to have such gaudy stats. Everyone else on that list, even Giannis, is a big who scores a great majority of their points on dunks or from right around the rim. Jaime often has to work inside to get his points, sometimes getting around a big defender. Jaime is doing great.
keeps this up might be an all star hes been fantastic