Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis continues to impress coaches and teammates: ‘He’s earned this’

There were questions entering the season whether Miami Heat rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis would play meaningful minutes as a 19-year-old. It turns out that only one player in franchise history has played more games for the Heat as a teenager than Jakucionis. Entering Tuesday night’s matchup against the Hornets in Charlotte, Jakucionis has played in 41 games as a 19-year-old in his first NBA season. The only player in franchise history who played in more regular-season games with the Heat as a teenager is Justise Winslow, who played in 69 games as a 19-year-old in his rookie season in 2015-16. Most of that playing time for Jakucionis has come in the last three months, as he has appeared in 40 of the last 42 games after logging only 53.7 seconds in the NBA through the Heat’s first 26 games of the season. He has also played double-digit minutes in 34 of those 40 appearances over the last three months, with most of those opportunities coming in a bench role. “Kas just continues to get better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “If you watch where he was in summer league compared to now, it’s really a credit to his work ethic. He spent a lot of time with [Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn] in all the pre-practice and post-practice sessions. He’s improved quite a bit. He’s earned this.” Along with Jakucionis’ energy, playmaking skills and ability to hold up on the defensive end, he has earned a consistent role with the help of his improved three-point shooting. Jakucionis entered Tuesday’s game in Charlotte shooting a team-best 53 of 123 (43.1 percent) from three-point range this season. Among the 271 NBA players who have attempted more than 100 threes this season, Jakucionis owns the 10th-best three-point percentage. “He’s one of those guys that’s always working on it. So he’s seen really good improvement,” Spoelstra said. “He’s refined some things just to simplify his shot, but he had really good touch before even getting here. But it’s the work ethic. It’s the consistency every single day. He’s relentless with it and taking the appropriate ones. “He’s getting a lot of open catch-and-shoot threes right now. I’m sure at some point the scouting report will change, as teams start to see him more often. But that shooting has been a good boost to our offense.” There were pre-draft concerns regarding Jakucionis’ outside shooting, as he shot just 54 of 170 (31.8 percent) on threes during his lone college season at Illinois. But the Heat wasn’t concerned, as coaches and scouts pointed out that Jakucionis shot an impressive 41.4 percent on threes through Jan. 1, 2025 at Illinois before his three-point efficiency plummeted while battling a left forearm injury over the second half of his only college season. “I’m always confident from three-point range,” said Jakucionis, who doesn’t turn 20 until May 29. “One day it doesn’t go in, another it goes. So it just depends. But, yeah, in college, I didn’t shoot the best. But also there weren’t that many games to be honest. It was only one year. And the forearm injury maybe affected me at that moment. But going through it, I think it helped me overall. And then just try to be more consistent.” Jakucionis has definitely been more consistent at the NBA level, making at least one three-pointer in 12 of his last 16 appearances before Tuesday’s game against the Hornets. He’s hit multiple threes in six of those 12 games. “Kas has really been working at it, and he’s clearly one of our better three-point shooters,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t know if you can make that case in July. He was a good three-point shooter, but he’s really refined it. His release is quicker. His reps are always at the top of our roster. At the gym, he’s putting in so many reps. And he’s also now able to do a little bit more on the move, and that really helps us. We need that spacing.” While Jakucionis was a high-usage guard at the college level, he has been asked to play in more of an off-ball role in his first NBA season with the Heat. That has forced him to become a better spot-up three-point shooter and also a solid defender in order to earn playing time this season. Jakucionis has also won his minutes, as the Heat entered Tuesday outscoring opponents by two points per 100 possessions while he has been on the court this season. “I’m just trying to adapt to every situation I get,” said Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. “Now I think I can impact the game more with just spacing out and cutting and doing off the ball stuff, shooting, defense. And, yeah, I think that’s the most important, the defensive side, to get playing time.” All the while, Jakucionis has continued to put in extra work behind the scenes to fast-track his development. That work is paying off. “Kas is one of the hardest workers I’ve been around,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “He comes in every day, works his tail off. And that’s why you see the results that he’s producing in his time and his opportunities that he’s getting. As he continues to get older and more comfortable, you’ll just continue to see how good Kas is.”