Jaime Jaquez Jr. Bio
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is an American-Mexican professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the small forward and shooting guard positions, wears jersey number 11, and stands 6 feet 6 inches tall. The son of two former college basketball players, he was selected by the Miami Heat with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft.
Before reaching the NBA, Jaquez built a decorated career with the UCLA Bruins, where he became one of the most accomplished players in the program’s recent history. He was recognized as a consensus second-team All-American, earned the Lute Olson Award as the college player of the year, and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023. Teammates and fans also know him by the nickname “Juan Wick,” a nod to his Mexican heritage and a perceived resemblance to the character John Wick.
Early Life and Background
Jaime Jaquez Jr. was born on February 18, 2001, in Irvine, California, and grew up in the neighboring city of Camarillo. He is the third generation in his family to play college basketball, reflecting a deep sporting tradition that shaped his early years. His parents, Angela Sather and Jaime Jaquez Sr., both played basketball at Concordia University Irvine, where they first met. His paternal grandfather, Ezequiel, immigrated to California from Mexico as a child and went on to play basketball at Ventura College and Northern Arizona University.
Through his father, Jaquez is of Mexican descent, while his mother’s side of the family has Norwegian roots, giving him a bicultural background that he has spoken about with pride. He is the oldest of three siblings, and the household revolved around athletics, practice, and competition. That environment helped him develop a mature approach to the game long before he reached high school.
Path to Basketball
Jaquez attended Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo, California, and graduated in 2019. As a freshman, he averaged 15.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, leading the team to a 25-7 record and an appearance in the California Interscholastic Federation semifinals. By his senior season, he had grown into one of the top prospects in the region, averaging 31.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while guiding the team to a 25-4 record and its first Coastal Canyon League title.
He set a school single-game scoring record with a 54-point performance against Royal High School and finished his high school career with 2,653 total points, earning first-team All-CIF Southern Section honors. In addition to basketball, he also played as a pitcher on the school’s baseball team, a sign of the well-rounded athleticism that would later translate to the NBA.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. Career
Early Career (2019-2021)
Jaquez was recruited to UCLA by then-Bruins coach Steve Alford, who offered him a scholarship at the end of his junior year. After Alford was fired in 2018, Mick Cronin took over the program, and Jaquez remained committed to the Bruins. He became a starter during the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, recording 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 74-48 win against Chaminade, and concluded his freshman year averaging 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
In his sophomore season, he scored 25 points on his 20th birthday in a 74-60 win over Arizona and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection while also earning a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. In UCLA’s First Four play-in game of the 2021 NCAA tournament, he led the Bruins with 27 points in an 86-80 overtime win against Michigan State, helping the program reach the Final Four.
UCLA Breakthrough (2021-2023)
The 2021-22 season was a difficult one for Jaquez, as ankle injuries, including synovitis, forced him to wear braces on both ankles. He bounced back in impressive fashion, scoring a career-high 30 points in a 77-66 win over Washington on February 28, 2022, and earning Pac-12 Player of the Week honors after averaging 28.5 points on 64 percent shooting. He was named first-team All-Pac-12, voted to the conference’s defensive team, and became one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given to the top small forward in college basketball.
Jaquez returned for his senior season in 2022-23 and elevated his game to new heights. On February 4, 2023, he recorded 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a 76-52 win over Washington State, and he repeatedly delivered late baskets to lead the Bruins to victory. He guided UCLA to its first Pac-12 regular season title since 2013 and was a finalist for the Julius Erving Award for the second straight year. After the season, he was named a consensus second-team All-American, received the Lute Olson Award, and became the first UCLA senior to win Pac-12 Player of the Year since Ed O’Bannon in 1995. He finished his career ranked eighth in UCLA history in career scoring with 1,802 points and ninth in total games played with 134.
Miami Heat Era (2023-Present)
Jaquez was considered a borderline first-round prospect before the 2023 NBA draft, where the Miami Heat selected him with the 18th overall pick, making him the only Pac-12 player chosen in the first round and the first UCLA senior drafted in the first round since Darren Collison in 2009. He signed with the team on July 1, 2023, and played two games in the 2023 Summer League before a left shoulder injury sidelined him.
Jaquez made his NBA debut on October 25, 2023, in the Heat’s season opener against the Detroit Pistons, scoring his first basket on a layup in a 103-102 victory. He went on to earn Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for both November and December 2023, scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 25, 2023, and was selected to the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge and Slam Dunk Contest. He finished the 2023-24 season having started 20 games and played in 75 of 82 regular-season games, averaging 11.9 points and 3.8 rebounds on 48.9 percent shooting, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Driving Style and Strengths
Jaquez is known for his versatility, basketball IQ, and competitive toughness on both ends of the floor. He combines a strong frame with above-average foot speed, allowing him to defend multiple positions while serving as a reliable secondary playmaker. His feel for the game, refined during four seasons at UCLA, has translated into steady contributions off the bench and in the starting lineup for the Heat.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among his signature moments, Jaquez set a school single-game scoring record with 54 points in high school, helped UCLA reach the Final Four in 2021, and scored a career-high 41 points with 10 rebounds against the Washington Wizards in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season. He also became just the fifth Miami Heat rookie to earn Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Basketball runs deep in the Jaquez family. Both of his parents played at Concordia University Irvine, and his paternal grandfather, Ezequiel, played at Ventura College and Northern Arizona University after immigrating to California from Mexico. Jaquez is the oldest of three siblings, and his younger sister, Gabriela, followed in his footsteps by playing college basketball for the UCLA Bruins before being drafted by the Chicago Sky in the 2026 WNBA draft. His younger brother, Marcos, plays college football as a defensive lineman for Ventura College.
Personal Life
Jaquez is a Mexican-American dual citizen, having represented Mexico at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. He is of Mexican descent through his father and Norwegian descent through his mother, and he has spoken openly about how that bicultural identity shaped his upbringing and his approach to basketball.
2025 Season Performance
The 2024-25 season was a difficult one for Jaquez, as he worked to expand his role with the Heat following a strong rookie year. In the regular-season finale on April 13, 2025, he erupted for a career-high 41 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow 119-118 loss to the Washington Wizards, showing the scoring upside that Miami envisioned when it drafted him. He was limited to nine available players for that game as the Heat rested several rotation players ahead of the play-in tournament.
Across the 2025 calendar year, Jaquez has continued to develop his perimeter game and build chemistry within the Heat’s rotation. His ability to play both small forward and shooting guard gives Miami valuable lineup flexibility, and his knack for attacking closeouts and finishing through contact remain defining traits. Entering 2025, he remains a central piece of the Heat’s long-term plans and a player whose two-way impact is expected to keep growing.
