The Miami Heat once again have a very impressive rookie on their hands in Jaime Jaquez Jr., the 18th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. He's not far off from breaking a franchise rookie record previously set by Dwyane Wade.

Jaquez is already someone who closes games and plays a lot of minutes for the playoff-contending Heat. The 22-year-old out of UCLA is averaging 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from deep and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. He has scored in double figures in each of his last 13 games, averaging 17.5 points per game in that span.

When informed that he is just three double-digit scoring games away from Wade's record, Jaquez almost let out a swear on TV. But he caught himself and gave his take on approaching the record.

“That's a crazy statistic. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence as a name like that is just an honor,” the Heat rookie said after Miami's wild win over the Chicago Bulls.

Jaquez's four years in college have certainly paid off for his development. Although entering the league at such an “old” age limited his draft stock, he ended up in a great situation with a Heat team that has a track record in winning at a high level and player development.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is thrilled with Jaquez's smarts and competitive nature. It would not be surprising to see Miami mold Jaquez into a star-level player in short order.

“He’s very mature. He’s mentally and emotionally stable, so I think that puts him ahead of the game,” Spoelstra said. “Even though he doesn’t know all the tendencies of the league or even know exactly all of our schemes and how we do things, he knows how to compete. He knows how to figure things out and make an impact on the scoreboard. That kind of trumps everything, you know? He's been able to manage…because of those strengths that he has.”

The Heat needed depth after losing key contributors Max Strus and Gabe Vincent to free agency. Jaime Jaquez Jr. has stepped right up and looks like the next great success story for South Beach.