Kasparas Jakucionis

Born in Lithuania, Jakucionis began playing basketball in the country's youth leagues before joining FC Barcelona. He played for the youth team, the U18 team and the main team throughout 2022-23 and 2024-25. In 2022, he also placed Gold in the U16 Euro Championship A. Jakucionis was named Zadar Tournament (ANGT) MVP in 2023 and Belgrade (NIJT) MVP in 2024. In the summer of 2024, he committed to playing college basketball for Illinois. As a one-and-done freshman, Jakucionis played 31.9 minutes per game and averaged 15.0 points on 44/32/85 shooting, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and the All-Big Ten Third Team. Jakucionis is an adept playmaker capable of scoring or passing from anywhere on the floor. At 6-foot-6 with good footwork, feel for the game and shooting touch, he can play a multitude of roles, including that of a primary playmaker. He sets up his teammates with ease, threading the needle for easy scoring opportunities. Despite not being an elite athlete, Jakucionis can also create his own shot with quality dribbling, hesitations and a working step-back jumper. His understanding of angles and advantages allowed him to average 5.1 free-throw attempts per game. On defense, he isn't a playmaker, but he's solid enough to work within a scheme. The Heat selected him No. 20 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft - a significant fall from predraft projections. It seems unlikely Jakucionis has a fantasy-relevant role out of the gate. Miami's offensive hierarchy is set with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins, not to mention Davion Mitchell. There's also no shortage of competition for touches off the bench with Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic and others. It seems likely this will be a behind-the-scenes development year for Jakucionis. However, the door is open for him to carve out a reserve role in the early stages of the new season, as Herro is set to be out for the start of the campaign after undergoing offseason foot surgery. Read Past Outlooks