Miami Heat fans already learning why Illinois fans loved Kasparas Jakucionis

The 2024-25 campaign was a wild ride for the Illinois basketball program, as we had so much promise but fell short in the NCAA tournament.

There were many bright spots for the Illini last season. One of those bright spots was Kasparas Jakucionis. The point guard was kind of unknown coming over from Europe, but he quickly got acclimated to the college game.

Jakucionis hit the ground running, and he became one of the darlings in the college game. While he leveled out a little bit, Jakucionis continued to be known as a future first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

On Wednesday night, the Miami Heat ended up picking Jakucionis with the No. 20 pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. This was a great pick by the Heat, but as an Illini fan, I know that already. I would imagine most Heat fans don’t know much about the shifty guard.

Miami fans did take to social media to express their feelings toward the pick. The overall sentiment toward the selection was overwhelmingly positive, too.

Jakucionis is in rare air with Cooper Flagg. Those numbers could have been even better if Jakucionis hadn’t dealt with some illness and injury during his freshman campaign. Miami needed backcourt help, and they got it.

The reports are that Miami didn’t want to give up Kel’el Ware in a trade for Kevin Durant. Now, the Heat can pair the former Indiana big man up with an Illinois guard.

It was a bit shocking to see Jakucionis drop that far. This was a great pick by Miami. The Heat getting a player who was a unanimous top 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft at No. 20 is a massive steal.

You always want to please the Godfather. Pat Riley still has a little juice left in him, and this was a great pick.

Miami did need backcourt help at the point and with shooting. Jakucionis is the complete package and can handle both duties.