Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Guaranteed At Least One Participant At NBA All-Star Weekend

Shandel Richardson|
Jan 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jan 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez is participating in NBA All-Star Weekend for a second straight year.

On Tuesday, the league awarded him a roster spot for the Rising Stars Challenge. Last year he competed in the game that showcases the top rookies and second-year players. Jaquez also participated in the slam dunk contest.

Here's the official release from the team:

The NBA announced today that Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been selected as one of 11 sophomores to participate in the 2025 NBA Rising Stars event. It marks his second consecutive selection after being named as a rookie last season, becoming just the fifth HEAT player to be selected to the event in consecutive years, joining only Tyler Herro (2021 & 2020), Michael Beasley (2009 & 2010), Dwyane Wade (2004 & 2005) and Udonis Haslem (2004 & 2005). Rising Stars will be played at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday, February 14.

 

Jaquez Jr., who was selected by the Heat in the first round (18th overall) in the 2023 NBA Draft, has appeared in 40 games (10 starts) this season averaging 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.20 steals and 23.8 minutes while shooting 44.2 percent from the field. He recorded his first career triple-double on January 6 at Sacramento, totaling 16 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, while also totaling a career-tying five steals. He has scored in double-figures 18 times this season, including a season-high 20 points on January 9 at Utah. A two-time Rookie of the Month and NBA All-Rookie First Team selection, Jaquez Jr. was one of eight HEAT players to connect on multiple three-point field goals on November 29 vs. Toronto, marking the most players to make multiple treys in a single game in Heat franchise history. Additionally, he is one of six players drafted by Miami to appear in a game this season, the fourth-most during a single season in team history.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here