Inside The Heat

Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr Hopes To Inspire Mexicans To Play In The NBA

Miguel Mike Medina

Oct 30, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Oct 30, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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Jaime Jaquez Jr’s connection to Mexico made him an immediate fan favorite in a game the Miami Heat won 118-98 over the Washington Wizards on Saturday in Mexico City.

Jaquez is the first Mexican player to win an NBA game in his homeland. Although his performance wasn’t strong, he came close to a double-double. 

Jaquez scored eight points and had 10 rebounds. After the game, he spoke about inspiring more Mexicans to play in the NBA.

“I think it’s great,” Jaquez said. “Hopefully, I can inspire a lot of kids down here to pick up a basketball and pursue that as their dream and their passion. Hopefully, we’ll see more Mexicans play in the NBA. It’s gotta start somewhere, and it takes time. So me being here can inspire those kids to play basketball, follow their dreams, show they got great talent, and one day they can be just like me. It's really amazing."

His teammate, Bam Adebayo, compared Jaquez’ love and appreciation from fans in Mexico City to Dwyane Wade when he returned to the Heat in 2018. 

“I had Dwyane Wade on my team as a rookie,” Adebayo said. “When I first arrived, everybody asked, “was D-Wade coming back?” First of all, I’m a rookie, so I don’t know. That’s not my job. This is probably the second closest thing to that. I’m glad Jaime got that experience and exposure because I feel like he’s always going to want to come back here because he knows he’s going to have a crowd behind him.” 

Miguel Mike Medina is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com

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Miguel Mike Medina
MIGUEL MIKE MEDINA