UCLA Basketball: Where Jaime Jaquez's Rookie Season Ranks Among 21st Century Bruins

The former Bruins All-American turned heads while with the Miami Heat.

Apr 29, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) scores in front of Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) during the first quarter of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Laughlin-USA TODAY Sports / Michael Laughlin-USA TODAY Sports

Former UCLA Bruins All-American swingman Jaime Jaquez Jr. enjoyed one of the stronger NBA rookie season runs for a former Blue and Gold star in recent memory. For his efforts, the 6-foot-6 reserve small forward was named to the 2024 All-Rookie First Team, along with San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller, and Golden State Warriors point guard Brandin Podziemski.

So where does Jaquez's debut pro season rank among all-time UCLA greats? Well, first, it behooves us to move this question into the 21st century. This way, we can disregard the obviously-better rookie seasons of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and others (Baron Davis, drafted in 1999, had a patchy rookie season, but quickly blossomed into a two-time All-Star in the succeeding years).

Let's take a quick inventory of the other standouts in a fresh ranking.

1. Russell Westbrook (2008-09)

Westbrook, the eventual nine-time All-Star and 2017 MVP who would emerge as the second-best player on an NBA Finals runner-up (the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder), finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting (his teammate Kevin Love finished sixth) and made the All-Rookie First Team that year, averaging 15.3 points (let's not worry about the efficiency of the shooting), 5.3 dimes, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals a night.

2. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2023-24)

He averaged more points than the closest competition (see below), while playing a critical role for an Eastern Conference pseudo-contender. Jaquez in fact finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting behind a group of likely three future All-Stars in Wembanyama, Holmgren and Miller, while also finishing ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Jaquez averaged 11.9 points on .489/.322/.811 shooting splits, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and one steal a night.

3. Kevin Love (2008-09)

Love, now Jaquez's veteran teammate in Miami, finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in a combination bench/starter role while with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008-09. He averaged 11.1 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the floor (he was not yet a long range sniper, attempting just 0.2 triples a game and converting just 10.5 percent of them), 9.1 boards, one assist and 0.6 blocks on a lottery-bound 24-58 Wolves squad. Jaquez had similar numbers (outside of the rebounds) while contributing to a winning situation in Miami.

4. Zach LaVine (2014-15)

LaVine, who never overlapped with fellow ex-Bruin Love in Minnesota, averaged a scant 10.1 points on .422/.341/.842 shooting splits, 3.6 dimes, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 steals per bout, while playing out of position at the point in 77 contests (40 starts), across 24.7 minutes per.

5. Lonzo Ball (2017-18)

Selected with the No. 2 pick by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, Ball already looked like the athletic, oversized, defense-first passing maestro he would become while in his final form with the New Orleans Pelicans and, briefly, the Chicago Bulls. In an ominous sign, injuries limited him to just 52 games (50 starts) for the lottery-bound Lakers. He played big minutes (34.2) (but didn't shoot efficiently, averaging 10.2 points on 36 percent shooting from the floor, 7.2 dimes, 6.9 boards, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per bout.

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