Standing at 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, the Lithuanian prospect boasts a rare blend of size, basketball IQ and shooting ability. He is just the kind of player that is tailor-made for today’s NBA, and for the Heat, considering their history of developing overlooked prospects.
As he prepares to enter his first season in the league, Jakucoinis will have an advantage given that he’s already got the smarts of a veteran and the tools of a lead playmaker. He spent several years overseas developing his game before his lone season at the University of Illinois in 2024-25. Jakucoinis’ professional debut was way back in April 2023 with FC Barcelona.
The Heat got a massive steal in Jakucionis
The Heat now get the luxury of adding this kind of seasoned prospect to their roster that’s currently in a transitional phase. What’s likely happening here is that Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra see Jakucoinis as a potential franchise player if he pans out the way they are hoping.With the 20th overall selection on the first night of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night, the Miami Heat selected Kasparas Jakucionis. When things are all said and done, we could very well be saying the Heat came away from this draft with the biggest steal of the entire class.
Jakucoinis was projected as a top-10 selection in the draft by many, and ended up slipping much further than expected. Not surprising, as there is always someone in every draft that falls more than was anticipated. It’s not always a reason for concern, and often means a team can take advantage of a favorable situation. That’s precisely what Miami did here.One of the biggest things that makes this selection such a slam dunk is Jakucoinis’ versatility. He’s a strong scorer and passer, but his skills don’t stop there. No where close to it. He’s a much stronger rebounder than most guards, averaging 5.7 boards per game at Illinois last season.
He’s also a player that isn’t afraid to lean into contact and finish through it. Jakucoinis is an adept shooter from deep, and he routinely gets to his spots to knock down pull-up jumpers regardless of what the defense does. On defense, he uses his strong IQ and physical tools to be a difference-maker on that end as well.
If Jakucoinis reaches anything close to his ceiling, he’ll end up as a legitimate three-level scorer that can be a strong defensive contributor as well. You simply don’t find a lot of players of that archetype in the NBA, and when you do, they’re typically All-Stars or even All-NBA level talents. There’s a very good possibility 19 other teams will be looking at the Miami Heat with regret for years to come, knowing they could have had Kasparas Jakucionis.
