Jaime Jaquez Jr. #11 of the Miami Heat dribbles during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on December 18, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Sarah Stier Getty Images
The Miami Heat already has a player on its current roster who was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Guard Tyler Herro earned the honor for the 2021-22 season.
Midway through this season, the Heat has another top candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award on its roster: Third-year forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“He definitely should be in the category for Sixth Man of the Year,” Heat guard Norman Powell said. “He’s been doing a great job all year in putting his imprint on the game and helping us win close games or helping us open up some games with his play style and the force of his downhill attacks that he comes with every single night.”
Jaquez, 24, entered Saturday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Kaseya Center averaging 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field this season. He has played off the bench in 32 of his first 33 appearances of the season.
Jaquez entered Saturday leading the NBA in total bench points with 530 this season — 53 points ahead of second-place Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. Jaquez also ranks first in total fast-break points (95), first in total paint points (366), seventh in total rebounds (168) and second in total assists (154) among reserves around the league this season.
“It would mean a recognition of hard work. That’s really what it is,” Jaquez said when asked what winning the Sixth Man of the Year award would mean to him. “Just to be even in those conversations is people recognizing the hard work that you put in and seeing results. It would be cool, but obviously we’ve got a long season. It’s still very early. We haven’t even hit the halfway point in the year. So just continue to win games. We win games, everybody gets what they want.”
Jaquez’s production is definitely leading to wins, as he entered Saturday with the NBA’s fifth-best plus/minus (plus 154) among bench players. Only Oklahoma City Thunder guards Ajay Mitchell (plus 218) and Alex Caruso (plus 207), Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (plus 175), and Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (plus 156) rank ahead of Jaquez in this category.
“He’s had a clear mind. He understands what his role is for us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jaquez. “And I was really talking about his competitive spirit and his voice being really consistent. We need that type of competitive edge throughout our roster. He’s been a great example of that. And he’s been consistent with his paint attacks all year, and he’s continued to improve with his decision-making. Teams are sending more defenders when he drives, backing off from him in certain cases. And I think he’s getting better at making those reads.”
Jaquez’s impact has been hard to miss, as the Heat has outscored opponents by 5.3 points per 100 possessions when he has been on the court and has been outscored by 0.6 points per 100 possessions when he hasn’t been on the court this season.
“Huge impact,” Powell said of Jaquez, with the Heat set to close its back-to-back set at Kaseya Center on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and WPLG Local 10). “What he’s able to do, putting pressure on the rim, getting into the paint, collapsing defenses, taking on mismatches, getting in there, getting to his mid-post, his jump hooks, his turnaround fades. But then also defensively, the big body battling bigger sized guys than him and putting his nose in there and putting his imprint on that way.”
Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) and guard Dru Smith (12) react after Jaquez Jr. scores against the Toronto Raptors during the first half of their NBA basketball game at Kaseya Center in Miami on December 23, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Jaquez’s strong third NBA season comes after his shaky sophomore campaign. His production dipped across the board last season after being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team in the previous season.
Jaquez, who was taken by the Heat with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2023 draft, averaged fewer points (8.6 per game last season compared to 11.9 per game the previous season) while shooting a worse percentage from the field (46.1 percent last season compared to 48.9 percent the previous season) and three-point range (31.1 percent last season compared to 32.2 percent the previous season) last regular season than the previous regular season. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 66 regular-season appearances (17 starts) in his second NBA season, and eventually dropped out of the Heat’s rotation in the final weeks of last season.
“It feels great,” Jaquez said of bouncing back from his rough second NBA season. “Just being able to play. You realize how much you love basketball, how much fun it is to play every single night. It’s really just having fun out there. It’s not fun not playing. Everybody wants to get on the court, so I’m just appreciating how fun the sport is.”
It’s more fun when things are going well, and things are definitely going well for Jaquez this season.
“Man, I think he can do it,” Heat captain and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo said of Jaquez’s Sixth Man of the Year chances. “I like the fact that Jaime is trying to play the right way. He’s not trying to overdo it. He’s getting to his spots and we’re living with those shots he’s shooting.”