"I would dust him": Jaime Jaquez Jr's girlfriend Dominique Ruotolo's confidence shines as she expresses feelings on 1v1 race

Jaime Jaquez Jr has found love in Dominique Ruotolo, a student-athlete at the University of South California. Ruotolo was faced with several trivia questions about her boyfriend at the Miami Heat Charity Gala and it would be safe to say that she had pretty good knowledge about Jaime.

From his college and jersey number to his draft year, Ruotolo gave perfect answers, except when she hilariously said that Jaime was 5-ft-7, only to quickly correct her answer. She wasn't able to tell his career-high though, but anyway, Ruotolo got a pass for that.

The athlete couple showed their competitive sides when they were asked about who would win the race between them. The Heat player very confidently said that he would win because running was his job.

"I think I would. She ran track. But I run every day for my work as well so I would," Jaime Jaquez Jr said.

Jaime perhaps forgot that his girlfriend was a track and field athlete and he got the exact reply that was expected from Ruotolo.

"I would dust him," she said.

Ruotolo qualified in the 2022 All-American and World Championships Trails. She is a Pac-12 champion in 2021. Moreover, she ranked sixth all-time in the outdoor triple jump in USC's history and 10th in the indoor triple jump.

Heat legend Tim Hardaway Sr. had a simple reason to select Jaime Jaquez Jr for his Rising Stars team

Miami Heat legend Tim Hardaway Sr. was selected as the coach of Team T at the NBA Rising Stars at the All-Star Weekend in San Fransico. When Hardaway had to draft his team, he had set his mind on Jaime Jaquez Jr with a simple reason.

According to a video by Miami Heat on X, formerly known as "Twitter," Hardaway said that it was the culture of Miami Heat that convinced him to pick Jaquez Jr., who is in the second year of his NBA career.

"Everybody knows why I drafted Jaime,” Hardaway said in the video. “Everybody knows. Yes, Heat, Heat, Heat, Heat Culture."

Jaime Jaquez Jr was selected 18th overall by the Heat in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 23-year-old had an excellent rookie season with the Heat averaging 11.9 points per game in just over 28 minutes per game. He also showed his versatility averaging 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

However, Jaime Jaquez Jr has struggled in his second season. He is averaging 9.2 points on 43.7% shooting from the field and 29.3% from the 3-point line, both much lower than his rookie season.

In his second consecutive Rising Stars appearance, Jaime Jaquez Jr. ended the game with 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. He shot 50.0% both from the field and the 3-point range.