Out of the players ranked outside the top ten in the 2023 NBA Draft, UCLA Bruins guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. is one of the rising prospects. Jaquez is a rare player who stays at the collegiate level for four years to work on his craft for the professional level. Rather than choosing to stay for one more year of eligibility, Jaquez chose to take his chance with the NBA. He possesses solid size at 6’7″, 225 pounds, and plays well on offense and defense. While he isn’t the most explosive prospect, his consistency and decision-making on both ends of the court make him a valuable prospect that could develop into a potential star.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. 2023 NBA Draft Profile
UCLA Bruins Collegiate Career
Jaquez came to UCLA as a four-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He started almost immediately by starting 23 of the 31 games played in his freshman season. That season, he averaged 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.
The following year, he would start in all 32 games he played, averaging 12.3 points per game. Jaquez’s best game that season would be in the Bruins’ 86-80 win in the Final Four. Jaquez scored 27 points shooting 11-of-20 in field goals and 3-of-4 from the three-point arc. He would be selected as a second-team All-Pac-12 and a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection.
Jaquez only improved more going into his junior season at UCLA. That season, he averaged 13.9 points, a team-high 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a team-high 1.1 steals. His best in his career at UCLA would come in his junior season in the Bruins’ 77–66 road win over the Washington Huskies on February 28th, 2022. In that game, he scored 30 points shooting 11-of-17 in field goals as well as accounting for nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal. This was the season where Jaquez was selected to the first-team All-Pac-12 as well as added to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season.
In his final year at UCLA, Jacquez would have his best overall season on the offensive end. Jaquez averaged 17.8 points, shooting 48.1% from the floor. He also averaged 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. He was named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the second consecutive season, named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, and a consensus second-team All-American.
Strengths
Jaquez is a reliable shooter with a high IQ in his decision-making. He can fight around tight man-on-man coverage to find an opening to get the ball to the basket. Jaquez is also able to create his shot through step-backs, pull-ups, mid-range jumpers, and drives to the basket. His ability to fight to the basket through contested coverage is due to his stellar size. He can play at the top of the wing or play near the basket in certain schemes. Jaquez is a tenacious player on both ends of the court and plays defense very well. One underrated aspect of Jaquez’s game is that while he is not the best three-point shooter, he doesn’t attempt to force his shots to get into a rhythm.
Weaknesses
While Jaquez is a solid shooter and driver to the basket, he lacks the explosiveness to potentially finish at the rim. He has the potential to be overpowered by the opposing defender, especially if they are bigger. His lack of explosiveness also comes from his lack of speed, which most guards or small forwards have. As a result, he played in schemes where he didn’t have the ball in his hands often. Jaquez is going to be an outlier in the NBA among shooting guards/small forwards without speed and explosiveness.
NBA Draft Projection
Top 20 to Late First Round
