The Miami Heat took Kasparas Jakucionis with the 20th pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The 6’6″ guard from Lithuania averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in his one season of Big Ten basketball at Illinois.
No one was more excited about the Heat’s pick than team president Pat Riley, who stood up as the pick was announced and started enthusiastically pointing at people around the team’s draft night war room.
Pat Riley looked happy with the pick. pic.twitter.com/JRWJMSW21f
https://twitter.com/WillManso/status/1938064214721237009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1938064214721237009%7Ctwgr%5E1b9f749ac2909036e3eb7fdaa37e594fe873609d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnba%2Fpat-riley-had-a-very-enthusiastic-reaction-after-the-miami-heat-s-first-round-pick
Riley and the Heat recently missed out on Kevin Durant, so it’s good that they were able to land a player they could get excited about. The pick the team used to grab Jakucionis probably would have gone to Phoenix if it had traded for Durant, so this is a good reminder that you should always have a Plan B, like Jakucionis, or a Plan C, like Jonathan Kuminga.
