In the lead-up to the NBA lottery and draft, we’re breaking down many of the prospects that the Utah Jazz could draft. We’ve already covered most of the best-case scenario options, but next, we’ll dive into a few dark horse options if the team slides down to fifth in the draft order.
Next up on our list is yet another freshman out of the Big 10; this time, we’ll look at Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis.
Kasparas Jakucionis #Illinois
Hit The Music. pic.twitter.com/Mn6aYHPvu1
— Tyler Rucker (@tyler_rucker) April 8, 2025
Stats: 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks, 44.0% FG, 31.8% 3P, 84.5% FT
Draft Range: Lottery
Player Comparison: Austin Reaves/D’Angelo Russell
The Lithuania native was one of the hottest risers early in the draft process, but some late-season struggles cooled his stock. Jakucionis is a jumbo playmaker at 6’6 who has an exciting mix of perimeter scoring and high-level passing. He has a well-rounded offensive game and can impact the game in a variety of ways on that end of the court.
A lead playmaker, Jakucionis has tremendous positional size for a guard. With the current bounty on finding players with size, skill, and basketball IQ, it’s easy to see Jak finding his footing and contributing to winning basketball.
While everyone wants to find a star, especially when picking in the top ten, history tells us that this is unlikely. While I certainly wouldn’t rule out stardom for Jakucionis, he has a very unique skill set, which should scale up or down in a complementary role.
Offensively, Jakucionis is most comfortable when operating off of a screen. This allows him to penetrate and kick to shooters, use his craft to get a shot at the rim, or even give himself the space to get into his signature step-back three. While his raw efficiency numbers weren’t great, Jakucionis has a knack, like most of the great scorers, for drawing contact and getting free throws for himself.
Illinois freshman Kasparas Jakucionis has declared for the NBA Draft.
The Lithuanian guard is a projected top-10 pick. pic.twitter.com/Q05EfAw2gd
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) April 14, 2025
Jakucionis is at best an average athlete. He struggles to create advantages for himself because he’s unable to blow past defenders. He often needs a screen to free him up offensively. Additionally, the athletic concerns make it hard to see him being a plus defender. He does have good positional size, but his low activity numbers are somewhat concerning.
The other downside is that Jakucionis turns the ball over far too much. His 3.7 turnovers per game is a number that has to improve. On the bright side, he’s a terrific passer who processes the game at a high level. Tightening up his handle and learning what risks he should and shouldn’t take will help.
Overall, Jakucionis will likely be in the mix if the Jazz slide to fifth in the draft order. He’s a very talented offensive player with room to grow thanks to his versatility, high IQ, passing, and perimeter shotmaking. With a couple of promising young guards already on the roster, I don’t expect to see him in a Jazz jersey next season.
