The Miami Heat rookie out of UCLA is quickly showing he is the embodiment of ‘Heat Culture’ and is likened to Mr Wade County himself.

When selecting Jaime Jaquez Jr. with their first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, 18th overall, not even the Miami Heat could foresee how much of an impact he would have on the team in such a short period of time.

The 22-year-old’s performances across the season so far have been so impressive, that NBA journalist Mark Medina has likened him to Heat legend Dwyane Wade, while also tipping him to make the All-NBA Rookie First Team.

Miami Heat rookie epitomizes Heat Culture

Jaquez Jr – 18th overall pick, UCLA

Miami elected to select Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the 18th overall pick in the NBA Draft, but at one point during last summer, it looked as though he would never get the chance to suit up for them, with his name being floated around in reported trade conversations for seven-time All-Star, Damian Lillard.

Alas, a deal between the Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers couldn’t be struck, and with Lillard having subsequently headed to the Milwaukee Bucks, Jaquez Jr.’s future looked to be in Miami after all.

Having kept a hold of the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year, little did they know just how integral the Mexican native would become to this Heat roster so far through this 2023-24 regular season campaign.

With Miami known for their system of ‘Heat Culture’ defined by Pat Riley over the years as a “shared philosophy with the goal of being great”, there is no place else in the entire Association that is able to maximize and utilize their role players quite like the Heat and head coach, Erik Spoelstra, can.

Jaquez Jr. is no different from the rest who have come and gone from the Heat organization, but he has shown glimpses of potential that signifies he could perhaps be greater.

While never initially projected to become a star, he had earned the reputation of being one of the UCLA Bruins’ ‘toughest’ and ‘most reliable’ players, having played through facial injuries and ankle injuries alike, missing only one game in his four-year NCAA career despite dealing with Synovitis, a painful condition that causes swelling, in his ankle.

Based on both his gritty performances so far on the court, and the fact that he is the only player on the Heat roster to have featured in all 30 of their games so far this season, all signs point to this part of his game translating seamlessly into the NBA.

As a result, many consider his game, which is largely defined by his athleticism and willingness to use his physicality to attack and be aggressive, to exactly resonate with that which Heat Culture stands for, something which hasn’t gone unnoticed by Spoelstra.

“Having to attack and be aggressive and assertive, that his him by nature,” Spoelstra said of his rookie after the Heat’s win over the Washington Wizards back in November, via Rookie Wire. “All of those plays in between that you can’t really script, he has a knack for those kinds of plays.”

Could an All-NBA Rookie first team selection be on the horizon?

Medina isn’t convinced that anyone else besides the two No. 1 overall picks from the previous two drafts in Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are in contention for this season’s Rookie of the Year award, which in his mind, ultimately rules Jaquez Jr. out of the equation.

However, due to his high level of production so far this season, should his play be sustainable, the journalist can’t see any reason why he can’t present a very good case as to why he should be selected as one of the five players to make the All-NBA Rookie First Team.

“The Rookie of the Year Award is always going to come down to Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, but I think that Jaime Jaquez Jr. is putting a case for himself to at least make the All-NBA Rookie first team. What he’s been doing has been out of this world. He went on a streak that almost eclipsed Dwyane Wade’s 15-game streak of double-digit scoring. This isn’t hyperbole; he is the only player since Dwyane Wade to put up these kinds of numbers as a rookie with the Miami Heat.”

Comparisons with Dwyane Wade

Wade – 16.2 PPG, 4.0 REB, 4.5 AST | Jaquez Jr. – 13.7 PPG, 3.9 REB, 2.5 AST

With the Heat Culture philosophy already fully instilled within the 22-year-old, Jaquez Jr. has now started to put up numbers which almost resemble those of Hall-of-Fame and Miami Heat legend, Dwyane Wade.

Miami Heat – Rookie Season Comparison

Dwyane Wade (2003-04)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2023-24)

Minutes Played
34.9
28.9

Points
16.2

Rebounds
4.0
3.9

Assists
4.5
2.5

Field goal %
46.5
51.6

3-point field goal %
30.2
37.9

Between November and December in 2003, Wade went on a 15-game run in which he scored double-digit points, scoring a then-career-high 33 points, also a season-high, on a night in which he went 10-for-16 from the field for 62.5 percent, including going 3-for-3 from downtown.

Although just over a third of the way through his 2023-24 rookie campaign, Jaquez Jr. almost eclipsed that already, scoring double digits in 13 straight games before falling slightly short of Wade’s record with an eight-point outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, he has since begun another streak, and his best game in a Heat uniform to-date came on his Christmas Day debut against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Playing a team-high 39 minutes with All-Star Jimmy Butler out with injury, the 22-year-old carried the Heat to a narrow 119-113 victory, largely as a result of his career-high 31 points scored on an efficient 11-for-15 from the field for 73.3 percent, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.

Across his last 10 games alone, the rookie has established himself as the fourth scoring option behind three-point specialist, Tyler Herro and All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, averaging 17.2 points per game. He has also contributed 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in that same span.

Jaquez Jr. ranks fourth among all rookies for points scored with 12.9 per game, behind only the two leading Rookie of the Year candidates, Wembanyama (18.3) and Holmgren (17.3), and Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets (14.6). His 14.6 efficiency score also ranks fourth overall among rookies, with Holmgren (23.2) and Wembanyama (22.8) again leading the way, as well as the rookie standout from the Dallas Mavericks, Dereck Lively III (17.1).

One thing that Jaquez Jr. has achieved already that Wade failed to do, though, is winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award after his stellar November.

Wade’s draft class was arguably more stacked with talent, though, and both LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) led the way in dominant fashion, taking home the award for their respective conferences in every month of the 2003-04 season.

While Wade’s illustrious NBA career resume deemed him worthy of becoming a first ballot Hall-of-Fame recipient this year, Jaquez Jr. has many years ahead of him to make a statement of his very own, but the caveat is that it will also most likely come with constant comparisons to Miami’s greatest ever player.

Nevertheless, if Jaquez Jr. continues to sustain the level at which he is currently performing at on a nightly basis, the Miami Heat may have yet another stud on their hands, and it’s hard to think he was almost used as a trade asset just three months ago. Hindsight can be a wonderful thing, and in this instance, the Heat must be so glad that they opted to keep him now.

Move over Wade County, a new star is on the rise, and he is known as Triple J, Jaime Jaquez Jr.