Jamie Jaquez Jr. is hitting the charts at number four in the Bucks’ “Ranking the Roster” series, and get this, he’s actually the second most accomplished player they picked up in that massive Giannis trade. This dude, a former UCLA Bruin, is seriously one of the most unique young players out there. While he probably won’t become a superstar, he’s already cemented himself as one of the league’s absolute best glue guys. It’s wild to see a player his age so mature, not just understanding his role, but straight up excelling at it like JJJ does. My buddy Finn Kuehl calls guys like him “Bench-Mob All-Stars,” and for Jaquez Jr., it’s spot on: he’s been an All-Star in his specific role for Miami. The big question now is how he slots into a rebuilding team, but first, let’s just appreciate what he’s done in his three years in the league.
From Immediate Impact to Ankle Woes
Jaquez Jr. wasted absolutely no time making an impact, totally following in the footsteps of other middle first-round picks the Miami Heat have made. In his rookie year, he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. Seriously, how often does that happen? And get this, in the same season, he also nabbed a top-10 finish for Sixth Man of the Year! He was dropping 11.9 PPG, grabbing 3.8 RPG, dishing out 2.6 APG, and snagging 1.0 SPG, all while shooting a respectable .489/.322/.811. That’s a rookie season to write home about, no doubt. But then, the next year, 2024-25, hit a bit of a snag for Jaquez Jr. An ankle injury sidelined him for a chunk of the season, limiting him to just 66 games. That injury definitely played a huge role in his scoring numbers dipping into single digits, down to 8.6 PPG, and his shooting percentages took a marginal dip too, hitting 46.1% overall and 31.1% from deep. It was a rocky campaign, for sure.
The Epic Comeback and What It Means Now
As tough as that 2024-25 season was, Jaquez Jr. came roaring back last year, setting a whole bunch of career highs. We’re talking 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.7 assists, and his assist percentage jumped to 24%. He was also playing more minutes (28.3 per game) and taking more shots (12.2 field goal attempts), all while boosting his overall shooting percentage to a career-best 50.7%. Even better, he closed out the season with some seriously strong shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 39.0% on 3.5 attempts over his final 20 games. Those incredible improved numbers propelled him all the way to a second-place finish in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, right behind the Spurs’ Keldon Johnson.
So, the burning question for Jaquez Jr. and the Bucks right now is: can he replicate that kind of success in a totally new environment? For my baseball fans out there, will he turn into the proverbial San Francisco Giants of the mid-2010s and only be good every other year? This Bucks team has a ton of moving parts heading into the season, but Jaquez Jr. really needs to be one of their most consistent and reliable players if they want to get this rebuild going right. Jon Horst has brought in too many players at important spots in the past whose performance has been a roller coaster, and they can’t afford that with Jaquez Jr.’s talent.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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