Jaime Jaquez Jr. didn’t waste much time erasing the noise from preseason.
His early work with the Milwaukee Bucks had some people uneasy. He looked out of sync in limited exhibition minutes, and the numbers backed that up: four preseason games, 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent. But once the regular season started, Jaquez turned the page fast.
Through his first three regular-season games with Milwaukee, he’s produced 20.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per night while knocking down 61.1 percent of his shots. That kind of jump changes the conversation in a hurry.
The scoring has been the loudest part of the surge. Last season, Jaquez was already one of the league’s more productive bench players.
Now, as a full-time starter, he’s taking it up another level. He’s the Bucks’ second-leading scorer behind hometown star Tyler Herro, and he’s doing damage in multiple ways.
The jump shot, in particular, has become a real weapon - he’s 10-of-15, good for 66.7 percent, on those looks.
The rebounding numbers are just as eye-catching. At 6-foot-6, Jaquez was already a strong glass-cleaner last season, pulling down five boards a game.
This year he’s up to 8.7 rebounds per contest, second on the team behind Kyle Kuzma’s nine per game. That production says plenty about his strength and timing around the rim.
There was a window for the Bucks to extend Jaquez before the season, but no deal came together. It’s not clear how far those talks went, but the result is obvious now: the decision to hold off has worked out nicely for Jaquez, whose strong start is pushing his value higher by the night.
If he keeps this going, he could be in line for a major raise next summer.
Defense is still the next checkpoint. Coach Taylor Jenkins has pushed Jaquez to bring that edge on that end, and early signs suggest the message has landed. If he keeps scoring, keeps rebounding and stays solid defensively, he’ll be making himself a harder and harder player for Milwaukee to let go.
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Bucks Loss Exposed A Problem Fans Have Been Dreading
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For Milwaukee, the concern goes beyond one defeat in a crowded season. A night like this can expose how hard it becomes to keep up when the offense stalls and the opponent keeps answering every push, especially against a team on a roll. The Bucks now have another example of the issue fans have been bracing for, even if the broader answer to it is still waiting to be found. [Read more 🡒]