MIAMI — The turnaround ultimately did not prove to be award-winning. But the meaning of the revival nonetheless resonates for Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
One of three finalists for the NBA’s 2026 Sixth Man of the Year award, Jaquez instead on Wednesday saw the John Havlicek Trophy go to San Antonio Spurs guard Keldon Johnson, with Denver Nuggets wing Tim Hardaway Jr. the other finalist for the annual sixth-man honor.
Jaquez was bidding to become the second player over the Heat’s 38 seasons to win the award, with Tyler Herro taking the honor in 2022. That also was the last time a Heat player won an individual NBA award.
Unlike the other two finalists in the media balloting, Jaquez’s season ended shy of the playoffs, with the Heat falling last week in a play-in game to the Charlotte Hornets. The media balloting was conducted between the play-in round and the start of the playoffs.
Jaquez finished this season as one of just three reserves in NBA history to start fewer than 30 games and average at least 14 points, four rebounds and four assists on at least a .550 true-shooting percentage, joining only 2008 Sixth Man of the Year winner Manu Ginobili, a year the Spurs guard was only one vote short of being a unanimous selection.
Jaquez was the lone Heat finalist for an individual NBA award, with Heat captain Bam Adebayo next expected to be in the mix for one of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams.
For Jaquez it nonetheless was nothing short of a bounceback season, having struggled a year ago to the degree it was not certain he even would be in Erik Spoelstra’s 2025-26 rotation.
In fact, although not a finalist for the award, a case could have been made, as well, for Jaquez as a candidate for the Most Improved Player award.
“I feel a lot more confident,” Jaquez said in the wake of his third NBA season. “I feel like I really belong in this league. I think this year solidified that for at least myself, knowing that I can really do this. Going forward, I’ll continue to stay ambitious, continue to strive for more, continue to improve, continue to help this team win games.
“Ultimately, that’s what I’m looking for. I had a so-and-so great year, but it didn’t translate to the wins that we were all hoping for. This summer, it’s going to be me looking for a way to correlate that to winning a lot more basketball games.”
Basically, Jaquez said he got his head back in the game.
“I was working with a mental coach, just being able to prioritize the right things during the year,” he said. “He helped me get rid of a lot of the clutter that was in my head, worrying about things that you probably shouldn’t worry about and only focus on what you can control. That was a huge help this year.”
Spoelstra’s move to an equal-opportunity offense allowed Jaquez to play a more attacking style this season, one that had him thriving with both his footwork in the paint and his passing game.
“I think I was just able to get in the paint, really put pressure on defenses, make the right reads,” he said of this past season’s revival. “I thought the flow and the movement helped a lot with that. It’s really easy to make passes when guys are moving for you and getting into open spaces. I think that was the key to this offense, the movement.
“For me, it made reading a lot easier. It made the space a lot more open, so I could be able to get in and do what I do. We put up a lot of points and it ended up working out great. The fastbreak aspect of our game as well was extremely crucial. That’s why we were able to put up a lot of points this year.”
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