Davion Mitchell raves about Heat rookie: 'He's a dawg on both ends'

Kasparas Jakucionis Davion Mitchell — Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell recently raved about rookie Kasparas Jakucionis. (Mandatory Credit: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

There have been 50 draftees who have played at least five minutes in an NBA game this season. Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis, who the franchise drafted No. 20 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, is not one of them.

Jakucionis’ lone minute — 54 seconds, to be exact — came in the Heat’s 140-123 blowout victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 1. He missed both of his shots, but finished with just one steal.

The Illinois alum has spent most of the season in the G-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, getting game reps — which he needed to fine-tune his skillset. But that hasn’t stopped his teammates from praising his talent from afar.

“He’s a really talented player,” Heat guard Davion Mitchell recently told Miami radio host Brendan Tobin. “He can kind of do it all. He wants to learn. He works extremely hard. The older he gets, the more he watches him, the more he gets game reps, he’s going to be an unbelievable player.

“He’s a dawg on both ends, I love him.”

Davion on Kasparas Jakucionis’s potential:

“He’s a really talented player — he can kind of do it all, he wants to learn, he works extremely hard…he’s going to be unbelievable player, he can pass the ball with the best of them…he’s a dawg on both ends, I love him.”

Kasp got… pic.twitter.com/KP7k7ycqO5
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) December 14, 2025

Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis has continued to grow in G-League:

In eight games with Sioux Falls, Jakucionis is averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He’s shooting 41.6 percent from the floor, 32.6 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the free-throw line.

For the most part, I’ve been impressed with his point-of-attack defense. He’s always been an engaged defender, but I wasn’t as bullish on his foot speed and screen navigation, two traits that can be learned/improved at the next level.

His decision-making has also been better. Jakucionis sees the game at a different level compared to his counterparts. Over his last five games, however, Jakucionis is sporting a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 35.7 percent (10-28) from beyond the arc.

The 6-foot-5 is making steps in the right direction. Right now, getting live game reps is important for him. Miami’s backcourt rotation is logjammed, to put it lightly. Though, selfishly, it would be cool to see him impact the rotation at some point this season.