Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. had another impressive game Wednesday night, this time it was against the Los Angeles Lakers where he had 16 points and recorded eight assists. Throughout the game, he was matched up against Lakers star LeBron James and in the fourth quarter, he hit a smooth turnaround jumper over the basketball great.

After the game, he made a funny comment about the moment where he said that when he has children, he is going to show a video of that to them according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Add that to the already immense highlight reel of Jaquez in his first season as an NBA player for the Miami Heat.

“I’m going to have that video and I’m going to show that to my kids, when I have kids,” Jaquez said.

Homecoming for Jaquez

Miami Heat star Jaime Jaquez Jr. in front of the Kaseya Center.

Besides the shot made over James, it was a homecoming for Jaquez to be back in Los Angeles as the rookie played at UCLA for four years before being drafted by the Heat. The team also played the Los Angeles Clippers a few days prior so he has had the chance to see family, friends, and fans.

“It’s been a great homecoming,” Jaquez said. “I think I’ve gotten a lot of love from the fans at all the games. I’ve gotten to see my family and friends. It’s been pretty special.”

Jaquez is a fan of James

Jaquez has shared his love of James in the past in early November of last year as he expressed before the two teams first matchup in Miami that it should be on everybody's bucket list to play against the 39-year old. He also said to ClutchPoints that to play against him is an “honor.”

Related Miami Heat NewsArticle continues below
Giannis Antetokounmpo photoshopped in Heat jersey. Number 34.
Heat trade proposal for Giannis Antetokounmpo in offseason after trade report
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots the basketball over Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) and guard Tyler Herro (14) during the second quarter at Kaseya Center.
Did Heat hint at possible Kevin Durant trade pursuit on social media?

“I mean, I think if you're a fan of basketball, it's got to be on your bucket list to play against LeBron [James]. You know, one of the greatest players ever, all time leading scorer, the list goes on,” Jaquez said. “So, just to be able to play against him, especially at this time in his career, it's an honor, it really is. He's been in the league almost as long as I've been alive. So it's just crazy to even think that I'm able to play against him at this point.”

Jaquez with an underrated defensive outing

While people are fawning over the offensive skills of Jaquez, he has also shown to be very capable on defense. Even against James in their past two meetings, he gave the former Heat star a ton of problems. Especially Wednesday night as the Laker had a forgettable shooting night when he was being defended by the UCLA product as shown in a video by BrickMuse.

“I mean, I'm going to try my best, you know, it's basketball. I've been watching him for his entire career, I think everyone else has,” Jaquez said to ClutchPoints. “You see all that but it's still one thing watching it, it's another thing going on the court and trying to so we'll see what happens. I'll try to do what I can and go from there.”

Jaquez has been a gem for the Heat in his first year, especially when taking up the opportunities with the team continuously dealing with injury problems. While the comparisons keep coming, he has filled in nicely with the absence of star Jimmy Butler averaging around 16 points per game in that timespan.

The Heat and Jaquez look to keep it up as they have one more game to go to finish off their five-game road trip as they face the Phoenix Suns Thursday night. Miami is 20-14 on the season which puts them at fourth in the Eastern Conference.