The Miami Heat had one sole pick in this week’s NBA Draft: the twentieth overall selection. The Heat needed a true point guard and lucked out with Kasparas Jakucionis falling to Miami at #20. Once a projected lottery selection found himself taking his talents to South Beach, and it’s a perfect match for Miami.

We discussed recently on Fans First Sports Network that the Miami Heat needed an upgrade at point guard with the NBA Draft this week. In back-to-back picks, Miami lost out on Walter Clayton Jr. (18, traded to the Jazz) and Nolan Traore (19, selected by the Nets). Two point guards slated to be fixtures in Miami was gone, and even if the Heat could have dealt for one, they were probably shocked when they saw Jakucionis on the board.

The Illinois point guard from Lithuania had one NCAA season under his belt, averaging 15 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, on 44% shooting with 31+ minutes a game. Illinois would be ousted in the Round of 32 back in March, but Jakucioinis made a name for himself enough to be a first-round pick.

For anyone unfamiliar with Jakucionis, he is a 6’6” point guard who is a fresh 19-year-old. His trademark is the pick-and-roll game, perhaps the best point guard at running these pick-and-roll plays in this NBA Draft. And as you can tell from the statsheet, with his frame, he is willing and able to contribute in more ways than one.

When it comes to a point guard, you want someone with the playmaking ability of Jakucionis.

How does he fit with the Miami Heat? He does three things for Miami.

1 — Excelling at the Pick-and-Roll

Miami has struggled since Goran Dragic’s departure with the pick-and-roll game. We saw tremendous strides from Bam Adebayo when Dragic was the point guard, creating opportunities for the big men. Dragic had a knack for dishing the ball to a driving Adebayo or popping up for a mid-range jumper. Defenses had to respect both men.

Now that Jakucionis is on the team, his bread-and-butter is the pick-and-roll. For a team that is still committed to building around Bam Adebayo and wants to see improvements in Kel’el Ware’s game from year one to year two, Jakucionis is the perfect complementary player to this team’s structure.

2 — Letting Tyler Herro Be The Star

Herro should not have been playing point guard last season for Miami. The Heat acquired Terry Rozier at the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline and Scary Terry wasn’t so scary for opposing defenses. While Rozier is slated to get a new home, and Davion Mitchell tests free agency with a desire to rejoin Miami, the Heat don’t have a solid option at point guard. Therefore, Tyler Herro had to become the primary ballhandler last season and Miami couldn’t continue that trend heading into this season.

Herro did have his first All-Star season with the Heat this year, but that was because he had to be the guy. His natural position is playing the two as an off-ball guard and drafting Jakucionis, who can help facilitate, will free Tyler Herro up to be at his full strength. If you don’t believe me, look at Will Riley’s draft stock rising to be selected right after Jakucionis, with his rights being traded to the Washington Wizards.

3 — A True Third Scoring Option

We talked about how Jakucionis can get Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo playing at their strengths in this offense, but Jakucionis is no slouch either. The Lithuanian can put the ball in the basket too! While his 3-point shooting will not be a threat at the moment (31% in college), he shot 44% from the floor and he led all the Fighting Illini players with 15 points a game.

In comparison, if Andrew Wiggins isn’t on this team in October, Jakucionis could be the only player to average 15 points last season, along with Herro and Adebayo. Having someone else to be a threat offensively, whether he’s dishing the ball or putting it in the basket, will force defenses to respect Miami and open up everyone else.

The Miami Heat must be pleased with Kasparas Jakucionis falling to them at twenty. If he hits the ground running and buys into the Heat culture, he could make 19 teams regret passing on him in the 2025 NBA Draft.