The Miami Heat’s polished first-year player Jaime Jaquez Jr. wants to build on his rookie season success going into the 2024-25 season. Coach Erik Spoelstra had almost immediate trust in Jaquez’s talents, earning a regular rotation spot almost right out of the gate last year.
The former 18th overall pick of the 2023 draft has all the tools to develop into one of the league’s top role players as early as this year.
ESPN recently pinned Jaquez as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate heading into the upcoming season. Last season, he averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 48.9% shooting. However, he shot just 32.2% from 3-point range and struggled with consistent outside shooting volume and efficiency.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. aims to be a better 3-point shooter.
In a league where outside shooting has only gotten more important, the Heat first team All-Rookie standout put a lot of offseason work into aiming to improve in that department. In a recent interview with local reporters, Jaquez addressed this area of his game:
“My three-point shooting, that’s an area that I really wanted to improve," Jaquez said, via the Miami Herald. "I feel like I needed to improve if we wanted to, as a team, make the strides and jumps that we need to try to win a championship. And just really honing in on mechanics and getting a bunch of reps up.”
There has even been some footage of Jaquez getting 3-point reps up with notable shooting trainer Chris Brickley over this summer. Brickley has also worked closely with Jimmy Butler, and the results have shown. Butler has never been known for his outside shooting, but he shot a career-high 41.4% from deep last season and often credited Brickley for his 3-point shooting success.
If Jaquez can make similar improvements, it could unlock a lot of not just his own potential but also the Heat’s potential as a team. With Caleb Martin’s free-agent departure, the guys who will look to be getting increased roles will most certainly be Jaquez and Nikola Jovic.
He also addressed that notion in an interview with the Sun Sentinal’s Ira Winderman, mentioning that he wants to develop into a defensive stopper that Spoelstra could lean on moving forward. At just 23 years old, going into his age-24 season, Heat fans haven’t even seen a glimpse of Jaquez’s peak as a player in this league. He already has the patient and savvy offensive game and footwork, along with some untapped defensive talent.
Jaquez's playmaking should naturally improve as the years go by, similar to Tyler Herro’s steady progression. But a consistent 3-pointer can be the key to becoming a better player more quickly.
Finding sharpshooters is no easy task in the NBA, but Jaquez’s excitement in wanting to work on the outside shot is reason for optimism.
His rookie year displayed a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor as a savvy rookie with a high IQ and two-way versatility. By taking the step into becoming a much more reliable knockdown shooter, Jaquez will give Spoelstra even more offensive weapons in his depth chart.
