Kasparas Jakučionis

Kasparas Jakučionis (born 29 May 2006) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Early life and youth career Jakučionis was born in Vilnius and started playing basketball in the youth ranks of Perlas Vilnius, a team affiliated with Rytas Vilnius. In 2021, Jakučionis joined the youth ranks of FC Barcelona. In the 2022–23 season, Jakučionis alternated between Barcelona's junior team and the club's reserve team in Liga EBA. Jakučionis would be selected to the 2023–24 under-18 Euroleague All-Tournament Team. He would also make his professional debut for the FC Barcelona first team in April 2023, in a Liga ACB game against Coviran Granada. Upon his debut, he became the third youngest player to play for FC Barcelona in Liga ACB. On 12 January 2024, Jakučionis debuted in the EuroLeague in a game against Žalgiris Kaunas and scored two points.

Recruiting On 28 May 2024, Jakučionis committed to play college basketball for Illinois under Brad Underwood. FC Barcelona retained the player's rights upon a possible return to Europe.

College career Jakučionis made his college basketball debut on 4 November 2024, recording 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes in a win over Eastern Illinois, setting a record for the most assists in a season-opener by a freshman. Four days later, in his second game, he set a new record with 13 assists against SIU Edwardsville, On December 16, Jakučionis earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors (alongside Dylan Harper) after scoring at least 20 points in five consecutive games and leading the team in scoring. On 6 January 2025, he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time (alongside Ace Bailey and Braden Smith) after leading the Fighting Illini to a 3–0 week, averaging a team-best 16 points per game.

At the conclusion of his freshman season, Jakučionis was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. On 14 April, he declared for the 2025 NBA draft, foregoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Miami Heat (2025–2026) On 25 June 2025, Jakučionis was selected by the Miami Heat with the 20th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. On 1 July, the Heat signed Jakučionis to a reported four-year, $17.7 million contract. He represented the Heat in the 2025 NBA Summer League.

On 15 November, the Heat assigned Jakučionis to its NBA G League affiliate team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, for game action after recovering from injuries. On 16 November, Jakučionis debuted in the NBA G League by scoring 12 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out two assists.

On 1 December, Jakučionis made his NBA debut in a 140–123 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. On 19 December, Jakučionis for the first time was a part of the Heat starting five due to injuries of Davion Mitchell and Tyler Herro, and per 35 minutes he scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, while the Heat won the game 129–116 against the Boston Celtics. On 8 February 2026, Jakučionis scored a career-high 22 points and also had three rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in a 132–101 victory over the Washington Wizards. The next day, on 9 February, Jakučionis demonstrated shooting consistency by once again making six three-point field goals (out of ten) and scored 20 points, along with three rebounds and one assist; however, this time the Heat lost the game 115–111 to the Utah Jazz. On 11 March 2026, Jakučionis began in a starting five and played 30 minutes in a historic game between the Heat and the Washington Wizards during which his teammate Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, the second-highest NBA single-game scoring performance, and Jakučionis contributed to this achievement with his assists to Adebayo. His debut season in the NBA ended when the Heat in the 2026 NBA play-in tournament lost the first game 127–126 after overtime to the Charlotte Hornets and failed to qualify for the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks (2026–present) On 6 July 2026, Jakučionis, alongside Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., the rights to Nate Ament and four future draft picks, was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis.

Personal life Jakučionis is fluent in Lithuanian, English and Spanish languages. According to Jakučionis, his childhood hero in the NBA was LeBron James and his play is most influenced by Šarūnas Jasikevičius.

Career statistics

NBA

College

EuroLeague

Domestic leagues Year Team League