Kasparas Jakucionis represents an important piece for the Miami Heat. The franchise aims to return to dynasty status this year and relies on this rookie to achieve it. The 19-year-old Lithuanian has a clear path in mind: following Luka Doncic, the Lakers star he admires for his on-court performance.
Jakucionis’s NBA debut is approaching, and he has high expectations. He spoke about it in an interview with The OG, where he shared his basketball beginnings and his next steps as a Heat rookie.
He prefers U.S. professional basketball
According to The Sports Rush, Jakucionis recalled his basketball origins. He explained that he only watched the sport in Europe, since in Lithuania that was all he had access to.
“Growing up, I watched more European basketball just because of the time difference. We didn’t have channels to watch the NBA. They wouldn’t translate it, you know? Maybe you’d see some YouTube highlights, but that was the only option. When I got older, I started watching more NBA,” said the 19-year-old guard.
Mike tells Kasparas he’s gonna “fit in just fine” 🤝 pic.twitter.com/hJOxXhav12
— The OGs Show (@theOGsShow) August 20, 2025
Heat legends Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem interviewed Jakucionis on the show. They asked the former University of Illinois player about the first NBA star he followed. As expected, he mentioned Luka Doncic, now an icon in both Europe and the United States.
“When Luka was in Madrid, I watched him a lot. Now that he made the transition, when he was drafted, I watched him even more… The playmaking, the shot creation, all of that,” Jakucionis explained.
Doncic clearly serves as inspiration for many young players, and Jakucionis is among those who want to follow in his footsteps. While Doncic played in Madrid, the Lithuanian joined Barcelona, where he gained valuable experience.
“When I was in Barcelona, I had the chance to work with professionals, and almost all of them had played in the NBA at some point,” said Kasparas.
Although born in Europe, he chose to study in the United States and explained why: “I wanted to be more involved in American culture. Closer to the NBA. College competition is pretty good because everyone is hungry.”
That decision led him to the NCAA with Illinois, where he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game in the 2024-2025 season.
