The 2025 NBA Draft is 24 hours away, and the Illinois basketball team is a near lock to have two players picked in the first round.
Brad Underwood managed to put together a talented, yet young, team in 2024-25. The Illini had a ton of potential, but with the youth leading the way, Illinois couldn’t find strong enough footing to make a deep NCAA tournament run.
The leader of that squad was Kasparas Jakucionis. The freshman point guard dazzled at times with his great ball handling and ability to wiggle to the hoop. He also had some great moves that helped him create space on the outside.
For months now, many NBA Mock Drafts have had Jakucionis going in the first round of Wednesday’s draft. Most of the mock drafts have him going in the top 14, which is known as the NBA Lottery.
On Tuesday, the most recent NBA Mock Draft was released by Matt Babcock of Bobcock Hoops. He lays out the lottery picks and a little tidbit about each player. The obvious No. 1 pick is Cooper Flagg to the Dallas Mavericks.
New on @BabcockHoops: Updated 2025 NBA Mock Draft
— Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) June 24, 2025
The latest intel, movement, and projections with the NBA Draft just one day away: 👇https://t.co/UmVWAaZWnJ
Expecting to see Jakucionis in the top 14 and a little write-up about him, I continued to scroll and scroll, but to no avail. The Illini guard didn’t make Babcock’s top 14. Jakucionis was right outside the top 14, sitting at No. 16.
I am warming up to the idea of Kasparas Jakucionis learning under a great point guard
Jakucionis would be heading to the Memphis Grizzlies with that No. 16 pick. While things could always change, landing with Memphis is a thought that I could get used to.
The Grizzlies are a young team that has a ton of talent but dealt with some injuries as of late. If Jakucionis could get to Memphis, he will have the great opportunity to learn under one of the best point guards in the game, Ja Morant.
I believe the two have similar styles. Morant is more of an attack-the-rim type of player, but he can bring Jakucionis along and get him more into that mindset. Both players like to take their defender off the dribble. Both can get to the rim as well.
Financially, dropping to No. 16 hurts Jakucionis’ pocketbook a bit, but I think landing with the Grizzlies would be ideal for the kid. This would be a nice landing spot for him to blossom as a player.