Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat has taken to Twitter to congratulate the OKC Thunder rising star, Chet Holmgren, for his first NBA honor. After a neck-to-neck race with “generational talent”, Victor Wembanyama, Chet was awarded the Rookie of the Month from the Western Conference, for the games played in October/November.

But the Miami center did not forget to mention the fellow Heat rookie who won the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in his tweet.

Bam Adebayo congratulates the two rookies for their achievement

Jaime Jaquez Jr. was selected for the KIA NBA award for October and November. This comes as quite a recognition, as Jaquez is the first franchise rookie since Kendrick Nunn in 2020 to receive the award. Adebayo captioned his tweet with “1st TEAM.”

A key piece of Miami’s rotation, Jaime has been impactful in the fourth-quarter games. Playing 170.9 minutes this season, he stands at the fifth position among all players. With Tyler Herro unavailable, Jaquez’s part in Miami’s 11-9 start. Averaging 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, the UCLA collegian has Coach Spoelstra sing praises. He has a poise about him that can be aggressive and then also read the defense. I think that’s borne out of a lot of experience,” Erik Spoelstra said.

Missing his rookie debut last season due to injury, and Wemby in the game, the Thunder forward-center’s position for the award was apprehensive. But as proven by stats and the accolade itself, the former Gonzaga product made good on his word.

Averaging 17.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, the 7-foot young big man has overshadowed other Western Conference rookies.

Read More: “This is Not Enough”: Unimpressed by Bam Adebayo’s Career High Season, Ex-Champ Demands “More” From Heat Star

Heat stars that won the Rookie of the Month award

If we are going by a descending order, then the next on the list is Kendrick Nunn. Currently active as a Panathinaikos B.C. player, Nunn was the opposite of traditional. On January 2, 2020, he became the first undrafted player in the league history to win multiple (3) Rookie of the Month awards.

The next on the list would be Josh Richardson in 2016. Drafted by the Heat as the 40th overall pick, Richardson’s introduction was a bit rocky. But on November 12, he took the place of Dwyane Wade as the shooting guard and, since then, has put up great stats. April 5 saw him clinching the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award.

Rewind to 2009, and we have Michael Beasley on the list. Drafted by the Miami Heat in 2008 as the 2nd overall pick, Beasley won the award in April 2009. And now, we come to the Sunshine State’s player with the most number of RoM awards. Caron Butler – four.

Drafted as a lottery pick in the 2002 NBA draft, Butler came into the franchise when they were in the rebuilding stage. Immediately getting down to business, the rookie was heavily relied on by Miami. Not one to disappoint, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. And, of course, four-time recipient of the Rookie of the Month award in the 2002-03 season.

With Jaquez’s achievement, the total number of awards the league has to its name has become 10.

With such talent on the side, can the Heat win a championship this season?

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