Jaime Jaquez Jr. answered a few questions in Spanish following the Miami Heat’s New Year’s Day game against host the LA Clippers.
It’s not often that an NBA player takes questions in Spanish. The Heat’s rookie guard is on a short list of NBA players of Mexican heritage to play in the league. But now with a global platform, this budding star hopes he can have an impact on aspiring basketball players from Mexico and Mexican Americans dreaming about playing in the NBA and WNBA who want to grow in the game.
“I’ve been noticing it a lot, even in college as well, the impact that I’m having on a community,” Jaquez, 22, told Andscape last week. “I guess more now because the NBA is a much bigger league. But even in college, people were coming up to me and thanking for representing something much bigger than myself …
“I didn’t come into this league thinking I want to be the best Mexican basketball player to play. That wasn’t necessarily my goal. But if that comes along, that’s great to be able to make an impact.”
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Three-time NBA All-Star and two-time champion forward Mark Aguirre’s father and grandfather were from Mexico and he once considered playing for the Mexican national team, according to the Chicago Tribune. Jorge Gutierrez, a Mexican American, played in 47 NBA games. NBA champion Juan Toscano-Anderson, who is Mexican American and African American, was signed by the Sacramento Kings after beginning this season with the G League Mexico City Capitanes.
But since its inception in 1946, the NBA has only had three native Mexican players. The most notable was Eduardo Najera, who averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 619 games for Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets. Horacio Llamas played in 28 games and Gustavo Ayon played in 135 games.
“Najera was before my time, but I’m fully aware of who he was and what he was able to do,” Jaquez said.
From left to right: Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Heat president Pat Riley pose for a portrait on June 23, 2023, at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Jaquez was a 2022 second-team All-American as a senior at UCLA last season after averaging 7.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. He dropped a few draft slots, perhaps because he was an older prospect. The Heat selected Jaquez with the 18th overall selection in the 2023 NBA draft.
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In a preseason NBA general manager survey, 10% voted that Jaquez would be the “biggest steal” of the draft. Most of Miami’s residents are Hispanic and Spanish-speaking, which added more curiosity from locals about the newcomer.
“I was at an [autograph] signing at a Miami Heat store and you got people bringing Mexican flags to sign. There is pride at the games with people saying, ‘Viva Mexico’ to me,” Jaquez said.
Jaquez was averaging 13.7 points, fourth-best among NBA rookies, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Heat entering Wednesday’s game against forward LeBron James and the host Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder scored a career-high 31 points during Miami’s 119-113 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day. Jaquez has also started the last nine games for the Heat.
It’s likely he will be a part of the NBA All-Star Rising Stars Challenge, the game that includes young NBA and G League Ignite standouts during NBA All-Star Weekend.
“I trusted in my work,” Jaquez said. “As long as I had an opportunity, I knew I would be able to perform. So, I got my opportunity and took advantage. I wouldn’t say I was shocked or surprised. I just trust in what I was able to do.”
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “It is impressive watching Jaime play. He is strong, physical and very skilled. Obviously, he comes with experience. He has made a huge impact.”
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Toscano-Anderson said Jaquez could be the first player of Mexican heritage to become an NBA star.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Toscano-Anderson said of Jaquez to Andscape. “Mature player. He was NBA-ready, and Miami was the perfect place for him to go, based on their culture. I think him playing so well and being in the [rookie of the year] chase, it enhances the magnitude/impact. He has more face time, more coverage, more support. So, it’s different. The previous Mexican players have all been role players. He has the chance to be more than that.”
Heat forward Kevin Love told Andscape: “His personality is not like a rookie. He makes rookie mistakes out there on the floor. But as far as his personality, he is one of us and blends in with us well. And with his game, he has been very impactful.”
Chicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig (left) and Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (right) compete for a rebound during the third quarter of the game at Kaseya Center on Dec. 14, 2023, in Miami.
Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Jaquez comes from a basketball family starting with his grandfather, Ezequiel, who played at Ventura Community College and Northern Arizona. Jaime Jaquez Sr. played at Concordia University in Irvine, California, where he met his wife Angela, who also played college basketball there. Jaquez’s sister Gabriela is a standout basketball player in her own right, averaging 12.7 points per game as a sophomore for UCLA.
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Los Angeles Sparks guard Evina Westbrook became the first Mexican American drafted in WNBA history in 2022 when she was selected 21st overall by the Seattle Storm (Westbrook is also African American). Gabriela Jaquez also has WNBA potential. Jaquez says that his sister regularly gets approached by Mexican basketball fans as well.
“She is growing as her own basketball player, her own star. She is having her shine with me out of the picture in Los Angeles and at UCLA. She’s enjoying her time and doing well,” Jaquez said.
Jaquez answered questions in Spanish after the loss to the Clippers and said that he wants to become more fluent. He says he has been using the Spanish learning application Duolingo to improve and is learning naturally living in Miami. Jaquez also plans to spend time in Mexico next offseason and has been to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cancun, Baja, California, and Monterrey. He added that he has had conversations about potentially playing for the Mexican men’s national basketball team.
“My Spanish is getting better living in Miami. I’m using Spanish a lot more,” Jaquez said. “I think that is important. You got to understand the way I was brought up. My mother [who is white], tried to speak Spanish. But it was more so my father who spoke Spanish. Growing up, it wasn’t spoken in the household.
“I took [Spanish] in college and in high school. I’ve been to Mexico. My grandparents speak Spanish. I am going to spend some time in Mexico this summer and try to integrate and learn the language the best I can. I plan on going all over to Mexico City and Guadalajara.”
Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (center) poses with Miami Heat mascot Burnie and Miami Marlins mascot Billy the Marlin before the game between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies at LoanDepot Park on July 21, 2023, in Miami.
Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said he has considered Mexico City as a possibility for expansion. The G League Capitanes are in the midst of their second season in Mexico City and playing in an NBA-ready arena with 22,300 seats. The NBA has been playing games in Mexico since 1992, including the Atlanta Hawks’ 120-119 win over the Orlando Magic on Nov. 9, 2023, in Mexico City in front of 19,986 fans.
Becoming an NBA star could also become lucrative for Jaquez in Mexico, Latin America and other Spanish-speaking markets. As of 2023, Mexico had the world’s 10th largest population at 128 million people. There are also 21 countries and territories where Spanish is the official language.
As the NBA continues to grow in popularity, a Spanish-speaking star player could take advantage of those markets.
“That is something that my father and I have seen from a very long time ago, even when I was in high school,” Jaquez said. “Just understanding that basketball isn’t really that big in Latin America and South America, there is an opportunity for them to embrace the sport with the right person and the right people. Myself, I know I am making a big impact trying to spread the game.
“It’s all about the love of the game of basketball. The more [people] from Mexico, South America appreciate and see the game, the more they will be able to fall in love with it the way everyone in America and Europe has as well. It’s the best game in the world.”
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The NBA entered the 2023-24 season with a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories. None, however, were natives of Mexico. The last native of Mexico to play in an NBA game was Ayon during the 2013-14 season.
Perhaps in time, with stellar play, Jaquez can inspire a new generation of Mexican NBA players and followers.
“The league is becoming more and more diverse,” Jaquez said. “Europeans are coming over. People are coming from all over, from the Bahamas to Mexico, all the way to Finland. It has become such an international sport. As the NBA grows and grows, you’re going to see more Latino players come in and make an impact.”
Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.
The Miami Heat woke up Monday no longer in control of the chase they had led for weeks. With the 2026 NBA Draft set for Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks closing in on a resolution to the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga, Miami suddenly finds itself in a two-team race it is no longer favored to win.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that Antetokounmpo is expected to be moved before the draft, with the Heat and Boston Celtics emerging as the two finalists. The Bucks have narrowed their talks to those clubs, sources told Charania, and are weighing two dramatically different packages for the former two-time MVP.
For a fan base that spent the better part of a month believing Miami was the team to beat, the shift landed hard. The Heat are still in it. They are simply no longer the favorite.
A two-team race with a Tuesday deadline
Milwaukee set the timeline itself. Bucks ownership signaled in May that it wanted Antetokounmpo’s future settled by the start of the draft, and Charania reported Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up” that a trade is expected to land in line with that cutoff.
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Charania framed the two bids as opposites. One is built around an established star, the other around youth and draft capital, and he described the negotiations bluntly.
“These conversations have been a blood bath,” Charania said.
He also stressed that whatever happens, it will not balloon into a multi-team construction the way other blockbusters have. Whether the deal closes Monday or Tuesday, Charania said, it is expected to be a one-to-one trade between Milwaukee and one of the two finalists, with no third team folded in. That detail matters for Miami, because it removes one of the lifelines the Heat had been counting on.
Boston changed the math with Jaylen Brown
For most of the buildup, Miami held the perceived edge because the Celtics were reluctant to part with Jaylen Brown. That changed over the weekend. The Stein Line’s Marc Stein reported Monday that Boston emerged “with a real shot” to win the race built around a Brown-centric offer, with Milwaukee willing to consider a swap even without a third team to absorb his contract.
That is the development that flipped the race. Brown is a five-time All-Star and a former NBA Finals MVP coming off the best statistical season of his career, having averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game as Boston’s centerpiece. He is also a bona fide star Milwaukee can plug in immediately, which speaks directly to ownership’s stated preference to get a recognizable face back rather than a stack of prospects.
The money works, too. A Brown-for-Antetokounmpo framework lines up cleanly under the salary cap, and from Milwaukee’s vantage point, flipping one star for another carries better optics than entering a full teardown empty-handed.
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Prediction markets moved with the news. Per Kalshi data, Miami’s implied odds slid from the low 60s into the mid-30s on Monday while Boston vaulted toward roughly 70 percent. Those figures shift by the hour and should be read as a temperature check rather than a forecast, but the direction of the swing is the story.
What Miami is putting on the table
The Heat’s pitch leans on volume and flexibility rather than star power. Reported frameworks have centered on Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic, with Kasparas Jakucionis and multiple future first-round picks also in the mix, and Miami holds the No. 13 overall pick in Tuesday’s draft.
It is a thoughtful offer for a rebuilding team. It is also, by definition, not a star, and that is the gap Boston is now exploiting.
There is a limit to how far Miami is willing to go. Bam Adebayo is the only player truly untouchable in the Heat’s discussions, and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported that the front office does not want to strip the roster and its draft capital down to the studs to get a deal done. That restraint is understandable given the franchise’s history of swinging big and missing, most painfully on Damian Lillard three years ago, but it also means Miami may be unwilling to match a price Boston now appears ready to meet.
The case for the Heat to lose this race
There is a real argument, voiced by some of the league’s most prominent analysts, that Miami should be careful what it wishes for. Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons both cautioned against the Heat gutting their young core for an aging star, with Lowe warning that the long-term cost could hollow out the roster.
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“The concerns I think are very real for Miami,” Lowe said.
The basketball context behind that caution is hard to ignore. Antetokounmpo is 31 and coming off the most injury-plagued season of his career, appearing in just 36 games amid groin, calf and knee issues while the Bucks finished 32-50 and missed the playoffs, snapping a run of nine straight postseason appearances.
He still produced when available, averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, but his looming free agency in 2027 is depressing his trade value across the league. For a Heat team that went 43-39 and has been hunting a co-star for Adebayo since dealing Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, the math of trading a future for a 31-year-old’s prime window is genuinely fraught.
What happens next
The next 24 hours should decide it. Milwaukee has telegraphed the draft as its internal deadline, and the expectation is a resolution before Tuesday night, though multiple insiders have noted the saga could still spill into free agency if the Bucks decide their leverage is better served by waiting.
For Miami, the stakes are stark. Landing Antetokounmpo would end years of frustrated superstar pursuits and reset the franchise’s ceiling overnight. Losing him to Boston, again on the doorstep of a deal, would sting in a way Heat fans know all too well. Either outcome arrives soon, and for the first time in this chase, the Heat are watching it unfold without holding the best hand.
Companies hired by the state to operate Alligator Alcatraz were notified Monday morning to begin “full demobilization” of the facility, quietly bringing an ignominious close a $1.2 billion experiment that had once been hailed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump as a model other states should pursue, four sources familiar with the operations of the detention center told CBS News Miami.
“All vendors got the notice,” one source explained.
(L/R) US President President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tour a migrant detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. President Trump is visiting a migrant detention center in a reptile-infested Florida swamp dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Trump will attend the opening of the 5,000-bed facility — located at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands — part of his expansion of deportations of undocumented migrants, his spokeswoman said.
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ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
The final few detainees left the facility last week, either being transferred to other detention centers or deported to third countries.
Federal and state officials at the time said it was due to safety concerns over the start of hurricane season.
They even suggested the facility would remain ready to take on new detainees.
FILE – President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and others, tour “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.
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Evan Vucci / AP
In fact, officials familiar with the plan told CBS News Miami that it was always the intention to begin full demobilization by taking down fencing and removing trailers and other structures built at the site located in the middle of the Florida Everglades.
That demobilization effort is expected to take several days, and once it is completed, the site will reopen as a small airport used to train pilots.
Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz.
CBS News Miami
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The decision to close the facility has been speculated for the past two months, with even DeSantis saying he expected it to close soon.
“If we shut the lights out tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose,” DeSantis said earlier this month during a press conference.
The decision to close Alligator Alcatraz was due primarily to the escalating cost of operating the facility, which was once hailed by President Trump as a model for other states to emulate.
The total cost for the detention is now estimated to be $1.2 billion.
Opened on July 3, 2025, the detention center was the brainchild of DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and built using state tax money.
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At the time, DeSantis maintained that the state would be reimbursed by the federal government for all of its expenses.
However, that funding has yet to come through. State officials submitted a $608 million request at the end of last year.
It was eventually approved by federal officials, but the actual reimbursement has been held up because of court challenges, environmental concerns and other issues.
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