Heat's Kasparas Jakučionis Gets Low Grade After Disappointing Summer League

Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kasparas Jakucionis stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the 20th pick by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the Summer League officially concluding, the rookies and younger stars have shown their potential on the court. The Miami Heat's Summer League season finished up on Friday.

First-round draft pick Kasparas Jakucionis was presumably who the Heat were most intrigued to see some action out of. The Illinois product was viewed as a major steal in last month's NBA draft. However, Bleacher Report claims Jakucionis' performance in Las Vegas was not a great first start. He was given a D+ grade for his play.

"Jakucionis looked like he was headed for summer-league disaster following the California Classic, where he went 1-of-15 from the floor with six assists against 12 turnovers," the article wrote. "He has since recalibrated for a couple inspiring performances in which you can see the vision of him as a lead ball-handler who marries flair with functionality. But so many of Jakucionis’ potential downsides were evident, too. He works incredibly hard just to get off mega-difficult shots he’s not yet hitting at a high clip—he finishes the summer having converted fewer than 25 percent of his threes—and can throw his bigs out of whack by overindexing on screen rejections."

Now, there have been many young stars to disappoint in Summer League but perform at a high level once the NBA season begins. This performance from Jakucionis should not be telling of what he could provide for the Heat rotation this season.

"Too many of his turnovers also feel preventable," the article added. "There is having derring do and being laissez faire. Jakučionis often tilts toward the former, not taking nearly enough about his surroundings or the defenders in front of him into account. Make no bones about it, there is real upside here."

Jakucionis is projected to come off the bench to begin the season. If he overperforms, he could find himself a part of the starting lineup sooner rather than later given his playmaking ability.

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