The Miami Heat selected Kasparas Giaksionis with the 20th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Kasparas Jaksionis was highly touted as a lottery pick, but his stock dropped significantly during his season at the University of Illinois.
However, the Miami Heat were considered lucky to find Jaccionis still on the board when it was their turn to draft.
Jaxionis has incredibly high upside potential and could end up being a draft day steal for the Heat.
Jaksionis is a very talented passer and has great court vision.
In the Heat’s most recent preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, Jaxionis had eight points and 10 assists in 25 minutes off the bench.
His playmaking and elite passing were on full display. His seamless connection with big man Kelel Ware was also evident. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said:
“He’s got enough courage to play. He’s got a vision and he’s got enough desire to make it happen.
“Sometimes he makes easy plays. That’s what receivers want to receive. Just fast balls that they can make plays on. He’s done that a few times.”
“I think he did a lot to get 10 assists and you could see a natural connection between him and Kael.
“They’ve played together a few times, but that’s more of a product of Kael. He’s got great hands, he’s a vertical threat, and Kass sees that and he can deliver it. But he can also deliver pocket passes, set you up and let the bigs do the rest of the work.”
“That’s good quality and when you have synergy between a few players, it’s good, especially for young players.”
Weah also made the most of his time off the bench against Spurs.
Ware led all scorers with 29 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Spoelstra spoke to Ware heading into this game and wanted to see him make an impact on the victory. Well, Ware made impactful plays that helped him become a star.
This was on full display during the sequence in which Ware took a contested 3-pointer over Victor Wembaneyama, blocked Wembaneyama on the other end, and then hit another 3-pointer.