After a rough California Classic, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently commented on Kasparas Jakucionis’ mental toughness. (Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward/Getty Images)
It’s been an uneven Summer League offensively for Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis.
But what hasn’t wavered is his mental fortitude and willingness to impact the game in multiple ways. He’s been a better playmaker than his AST:TO indicates, he’s been active on the glass and, most importantly, has been very good defensively (relative to expectation).
After an awful California Classic nearly two weeks ago, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke fondly of the 19-year-old’s mental fortitude amid his rough play offensively.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina, Jakucionis spoke about that type of mindset.
Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis has a perfect mindset:
In the California Classic, the No. 20 overall pick scored six points on 1-of-15 shooting with a dozen 12 turnovers, a far cry from what made him such a tantalizing prospect out of Illinois.
He bounced back in the NBA 2K26 Summer League emphatically. Here was his full quote regarding his mental toughness, according to Medina.
“There are things in life and in basketball that you can control and there are other things that you cannot,” he said. “I think everywhere in the process, every time if you work the right way and have the right mindset, I think if you are improving every day no matter what. Every day cannot be a good day. But from every bad day, you can take a lot more and learn a lot more. I’m just trying to be myself, be positive and do what I can do and control what I can control.
“I love the process with getting better at basketball. No matter how you are now, even if you’re not doing well, you’re still going to go to the gym the next day. If you’re doing well, you’re still going to go to the gym the next day. That’s part of it. You cannot hide from that.”
“There are things in life and in basketball that you can control and there are other things that you cannot. I think everywhere in the process, every time if you work the right way and have the right mindset, I think if you are improving every day no matter what. Every day cannot… pic.twitter.com/vUSo7xjGsi
— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) July 18, 2025
You can’t ask for a better mindset for a 19-year-old rookie to have.
He impacted the game in every way at Illinois and has done so in Las Vegas, Nev., even though there have been times when he’s struggled shooting, dealing with ball pressure and decision-making. Not all assists all created equally — nor are all turnovers — and his play throughout Summer League has suggested there are plenty of playmaking chops there.
Nevertheless, he’s still finding a way to impact regardless. In three Las Vegas Summer League games, he’s averaging 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals on 44.8/35.3/100 shooting splits, sporting a 55.2 effective field goal percentage and a 64.8 true-shooting percentage.
The sample is super small, but the resolve and resilience have been encouraging regardless. We’ll see how he’s able to close Friday against Milwaukee (if he plays), and how he’s able to parlay this mini-stretch into training camp in October.
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