Kasparas Jakučionis Introductory Press Conference | June 27, 2025

Kasparas Jakučionis Introductory Press Conference | June 27, 2025

[Music] all right hi Cass congratulations welcome to Miami um what has the whirlwind of the last 36 hours been like for you and was there a moment where it kind of hit you like I’m in the NBA now and the Miami Heat drafted me
yeah I’m so so excited and you know to hear my name call is is different feeling it’s so hard to describe in words uh it doesn’t feel uh real yet so I’m still kind of trying to figure everything out but it doesn’t feel real yes welcome to Miami uh just speaking with people like Pat Riley like Eric Spolster people who are considered you know greats in the in the business how does that feel for you is that surreal and I you said it kind of feels like a dream yeah it does feel like a dream um and it’s just amazing to talk to people like that and just meet meeting meeting them and I can’t wait to get started logan guess um you know your journey you’ve club teams Illinois you you’ve had to make adjustments already in your career what about your journey is going to help you make this next adjustment yeah I think every time uh I moved to play somewhere else especially from home when I was just 15 it helped me grow as a person and as a player learn new cultures play different uh style of games uh because Spain is different than Lithuania then I moved to Illinois another adjustment to play US basketball more than Spanish so I think just this all adjustment give me more experience uh and obviously it’s a it’s a process uh and I can’t wait to to start working hi welcome to Miami i’m sure you’re so excited um what do you know about the heat culture and how do you see yourself fitting into it
yeah so it’s winning culture uh all the time trying to uh do everything possible to win give allout effort every day uh you know the toughness and uh I just uh I love winning you I try to do everything possible uh for the team to win try to work hard and be the best version of myself for for the team to win guys are there any specific um guards that you like to study are you looking at different things to add to your game um or what NBA guards or what other guards you do you watch film of
yeah so uh I like to be myself uh but also like to take some some things from other players too uh when I was little I was watching uh Luca when he was still in Madrid um because I moved to Spain after too so I watch his like playmaking and self shot creation uh I like how Andrew Nehard you know gives all 100% on both ends on the floor trying to do the right plays play a game the right way uh shoot open shots so I would say these two the most but I just like to be myself right here unless I’m mistaken you become the fourth uh active NBA player from Lithuania joining uh Jonas Valunis Deontto Sabonis Manus Bales uh my question is do you know them have any relationship with them at all and how does it feel to potentially become the next in line of really good NBA players to represent your country
yeah I I never met Jonas and Sabonis but I met Matas we we talked after the season we had some dinner in Chicago so I met him a couple times um but yeah it’s it’s amazing you know Lithuan is not a big country it’s only 2.5 million people um but everybody lives basketball uh everybody is trying to to make the best out of it and everybody supports it in your introductory press conference after the draft you said um that you liked you know you already would thinking of playing with Bam and Tyler had those guys reached out to you or if anybody of the team reached out to you and send you any messages
um to be honest uh I didn’t see because there’s a lot of messages and I just uh didn’t read all of those uh just started to you know go for a walk with my family and wait some dinner and didn’t look at my phone too much when looking at your game one of the things that stands out is your ability to kind of draw contact get into the lane get to the foul line just how much do you see that part of your game translating to the next level yeah I think uh I think a lot obviously uh I need to put the work in the weight room uh building my body building my strength and just with the process uh and with the time it will come but I’m just ready to to work hard and be the best version of myself a key aspect to the team is is obviously their hard-nosed defense kind of fitting into that culture do you see that as a strength or do you see that maybe as something that you’re kind of excited to even get improved especially coming to Miami
yeah definitely I see exciting uh to to improve that you know always give 100% uh and just try to to help the team uh be the best version of me on that end on the floor too you obviously have now three months I guess until the start of your first NBA training camp but it’s a quick turnaround out of summer league now you go to the west coast what are you looking forward to about that experience and what are you hoping to maybe prove and get out of it
yeah so obviously you know the the work uh just playing in summer league try to get know the game a little bit and just dial in with the process i was told that it was okay to ask you a question in Spanish is that okay for you yeah it is
okay so Forecesses to go off that question how much more have you used Spanish in the last 24 hours and everything than you have in the last year and how much are you looking forward to maybe using it more often now
uh yeah you know I love Spanish when I lived in Spain and I just learned it pretty quick so I’m excited to be here that it has like some Latin culture and a lot of people speak Spanish
another one for me that’s Do you plan on playing in Euro Basket there’s a couple players in the heat roster now Yovic and Pella that might play do you Are there plans to play in that tournament this off seasonason
uh this this year now there was a really cool video when you got drafted and you and Coach Underwood he told you that this is obviously going to be a great place for you can he just kind of talk about the stuff that he prepared you for especially going to the NBA
yeah so we have great relationship with him uh we would talk a lot off the court too uh he would try to tell me some things teach me some things uh moving forward and you know just get that uh theor theoretical part right uh and then when I will start uh process here uh I’ll have some uh experience and uh it will it will make it better questions okay thank you very much guys we’re going to break down for one ones l you guys are up first in the alley thanks for everyone coming
thank you

Kasparas Jakučionis has arrived in Miami and will address the media following his selection as the 20th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

#NBA #Basketball #NBABasketball #MiamiHEAT #HEATCulture #heatnation