Panini Rising Stars Practice Interview: Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Panini Rising Stars Practice Interview: Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Right here how we doing how we doing um I would say right now I’m feeling feeling nervous feeling excited a lot of emotions are coming to mind um just trying to embrace it all as it comes uh I want to go back to Miami um

My boys are going to come meet me from back home it’s going to be uh their first first time visiting me in my new city so uh we’re going to we’re going to have some fun and go to dinner uh right now it’s just my I got

My parents I got a I got a couple friends here as well um and yeah they’re all here supporting me what thing we expect from Triple J the CL because it’s always spectacular it’s one of most yeah I would say it’s going to be exciting I’m not going to give away any secrets

Right now but you guys all tune in and make sure you watch and uh hopefully hopefully I do well there’s so many different routes to get to the NBA now G league night overtime Elite how important would you say that your college experience was to you and what’s

The biggest thing you got out of it um I would say a lot of things uh I wouldn’t say college going four years is the route for everybody I think there’s like you said there’s a lot of different ways to get there I mean for me personally I

Thought it was great to um you know go four years get a degree um be with all my teammates and friends and try to win a National Championship and with that I gained a lot of experience um and was able to you know be ready be

Ready to take my transition to the NBA what’s your electri favorite flavor strawberry kiwi do do you think that four years in college helped you for an immediate role in the NBA um yeah of course I think gaining that experience and having that um ability to you know

Play in big games and moments that matter um really translate into you know playing in the league you just sign with Jordan brand and the first Michael Jordan first Allstar Weekend were right here in Indiana 29 years ago what does it mean to you to be a part of a Jordan

BR family and being here the same spot that Michael um yeah it’s incredible being a part of Jordan is uh something I’ve always wanted to do when I was a kid I used to grow up thinking which brand I wanted to sign with if I ever

Made it this far and Jordan was always at the top of my list so to be able to represent a great brand and and a great guy um is really an honor I about a year ago you and I talked PA can you describe to me what kind of

Years this has been for you and could you imagine it going this well uh wow yeah this has been a been an unreal year um a lot can happen in the year I think that’s what’s taught me that’s what has taught me this experience is that you

Know one year you’re in college and the next year you’re in the NBA so I mean things can change H and happen really fast um and you just take it all as a blessing so being the first UCLA player ever drafted by the heat is that the perfect situation for you being drafted

Into uh yeah I think it’s no secret that’s where I wanted to get drafted to so for them to be able to pick me um was a dream come true I mean what is your first All-Star memory as a fan uh my first All-Star memory as a fan um I

Think it was probably I don’t remember was it 2010 it was Kobe it was Kobe LeBron and and um I remember LeBron was going for a fast break dunk or or no Kobe was going for the fast break dunk LeBron tried to swat him over behind and

He dunked it and I thought Kobe was the greatest player of all time and that’s what sealed the deal anded it thank you H CJ St recently went in a podcast to say that he dropped 40 on you when you guys were in high school oh wow why do

You make of that and what do you think his performance is going to be like tonight in the Celebrity Game well I’ll make it it this way I don’t think he had 40 but I will give him he definitely hit the game winner that that is true he

Hadit a crazy game winner half court um the the crowd did Rush the court but I mean you know I’m wishing him all the best from SoCal um you know I hope he does well um I would just say everyone tune in I appreciate all y’all watching um

And thank you for all the support what’s your most memorable my most memorable uh I would probably say Christmas day uh my career high scoring 30 it’s probably my most memorable moment so far think like battle um you know I’m excited to see what he’s got I know he’s got a lot of

Balance and I’m excited to see what creativity he’s bringing to the contest’s it going against uh you know they’ve been great battles so far um you know they they’ve got the better of us so far um and going on this second half this season uh we’re

Going to come a lot more prepared the biggest lesson you learned from UCLA that you appli to um is that when shots aren’t going in you gotta play defense what have you learn about heat culture and what do you think is the most important thing about that to be

The heat of course um I would say you know just toughness bringing your lunch PA to work every day um working hard next man up uh and we got we’re all we got we all we need so what’s your childhood favorite player Kobe Bryant hi what’s your welcome to the NBA moments

Uh man I’ve had a lot of Welcome to the NBA moments um I would just probably uh it was early in my my my season um I think it was fourth or fifth game playing against Celtics at TD Garden um and it felt like a real playoff atmosphere and then you know guarding

You know Jason Tatum was uh was a big moment for me I what point did you consider doing the dunk contest what was the the process of like thinking about it and you know getting the invite and just decided to go for it um I think it

Was a pretty easy process they said hey you want to do the dun contest and I said hell yeah so it’s that easy did you dream of it as a kid participating in the contest yeah I think uh that’s something that I thought of um I always

LED dunking I was obsessed with it whenever I was a kid I would always dream about being able to dunk and then now here I am in the dunk contest um so I think that little kid would be pretty proud of himself how no I looked at some old dun contests

Just for inspiration and uh Nostalgia just to see you know what guys were bringing um and I’m trying to put my own little twist on everything is there one specific one that stud have a memory of no no I kind of yeah LeBron he’s been playing since the

Stone Age right like what’s your earliest memory of watching him play oh man uh I would say he has been playing for a long time I guess I’ll go back to the one moment I was saying when um it it was uh I think you know 2010 or 200 11 uh Kobe and

LeBron East West Allstar and this is when you know who still had the crown um and I was pulling for Kobe the whole time and I remember uh he had blocked a shot and then he had dunked on him in that All-Star Game and from that moment I thought Kobe was a

Goat you been luckier than most coming from LA to Miami which city do you like more respectfully of course respectfully Los Angeles that’s my home so I’m going to go la I mean um along those I mean Kobe played it you know to his 20th year with the leakers and stuff LeBron’s 20th

Allstar game this weekend staff is 35 years old KD what does that say about kind of longevity and the possibilities for you as a as a rookie and how long you could maybe be in this league and yeah are your eyes wider when you see

These guys and I mean yeah I mean I think uh I think basketball is all about like what you can get to the game um and then you know once you’re done uh it’s time to hang up the shoes I mean I don’t know when that’s going to be for me but

Obviously you see what guys like Steph um LeBron KD those guys still have so much more to get to the game and they show it every single night they’re still at the top of their games um even at this late stage in their career and it’s really incredible and inspiring to see

So I mean credit to those guys for how well they take care of their bodies and their mentals to be able to um sustain for such a high level of play for so long have you have working with the guys that you work with in Miami have you

Different things that you’ve stolen in terms of the way you take care of your that maybe you didn’t realize would be available to you as a college student yeah I mean I would just say you know not in college is not school so there’s a lot more time and effort focus on your

Body and preparation recovery uh all sorts of things like that um and you know sometimes it’s okay to um take a second um to make sure that your body’s okay even if it is something little to just make sure you cover all your bases not to make anything worse um because

That can happen sometimes and really just taking your time I think Kevin loves a big guy um who really put an emphasis on that is really take your time coming back from injury um to make sure that you’re 100% Health see um indanapolis check me out at the allar and the D

Contest that was good um if you had to describe your NBA career one song or album what would it be uh one song or album I’ll go The Black Album okay why you say that I just think it’s legendary and I’m hoping to have a legendary career too I got one more for

You if you can have any actor play you in the movie who would you pick uh Adam Driver Choice who’s your top three dunkers of all time oh that’s a good one um I’ll say LeBron Vince Carter um Blake Ren I’m going Pig you back up of that one who’s your top three

Guys from UCLA top three guys from UCLA uh let’s see Kevin Love um Reggie Miller Lonzo ball how do you feel about being teammates of Jimmy bodler and V de uh I feel great they two amazing veterans that I got on my team it’s been a pleasure to play with them super cool

Guys on and off the court um and yeah I love those guys which shoes will you wear tomorrow what what which shoes will I wear tomorrow yeah for this I don’t know I’m a very secet guy I don’t know we’ll see we’ll see you have any favorite memories from past D

Contest uh yeah 2016 Zack LaVine Aaron Gordon that was the craziest DK contest I’ve ever seen you even welcome to the NBA moment so far this season uh yeah TD Garden I think it was my first uh F or fourth or fifth game um and you know

Obviously I got to see the inherited rivalry uh between the the Miami Heat and the Celtics just see how the atmosphere was so incredible in July Mexico’s playing the pre-qualifying Olympic tournament what are the chances that you join the National Team Mexico National team um well that’s something that we got to

Work about or talk about during the offseason um right now obviously my focus is uh the Heat and playing right now I mean you’re discussion for the Rookie of the Year I’m curious about how’s relationship with with you were together in the dra are probably the

Next time you MH how’s relationship um I mean it’s great obviously you know we’re competitors I wouldn’t say you know we’re the best friends uh but you know I got no I got no problem no no issues with nobody so I mean they’re cool guys um every time that I’ve interacted with

Them and you know I wish them all the best two questions for what was it she will not be here this weekend you’re in the dunk contest we know you got bounced what’s a defensive player of the year past the present that you really want to dunk on

Defensive Player of the Year passive pres that I would really like to dunk on um Giannis Janis all right that’s a good last question see that in the playoffs how do you manage all this pressure you know with all thetion that you have roof

And test how do you manage it um I just try to be myself uh stay levelheaded um you know I think you know as long as I’m myself and people appreciate that and and enjoy that then that’s that’s enough for me thank you all right thank you thank you appreciate it thank you

Jaime Jaquez Jr. speaks to the media at the Panini Rising Stars Practice at All-Star Weekend 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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