One of the biggest revelations of the Miami Heat’s season may have happened during an optional workout in Cleveland State University Gym on Thursday.

Heat rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis put on a dunking show during the workout, leaving his coaches and teammates in shock.

“I had never seen him dunk before and I always give him s—,” said Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who took part in the NBA’s 2024 Slam Dunk Contest. “I’m like, ‘Dude, can you dunk, can you dunk?’ So when I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh my God. Like what? No way.’ It’s pretty impressive to see.”

Jakucionis’ windmill dunk and spinning dunk on Thursday came as a surprise because he has yet to throw down an in-game dunk in his first NBA season. In fact, Jakucionis completed just one in-game dunk during his lone college season at Illinois.

Jakucionis, 19, downplayed Thursday’s dunking exhibition when asked about it following Friday’s morning shootaround in Cleveland. With the Heat’s social media team posting a video of the dunks, Jakucionis joked that the video is fake.

“That’s AI. 100%,” Jakucionis said before Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. “I think AI is kind of getting out of hand now, and it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.”

While Jakucionis has completed just one in-game dunk since moving to the United States, he made sure to make it known Friday that he threw down more than a few dunks during his three-year stint in Barcelona before heading to Illinois for college.

“I don’t know why they didn’t believe in me,” Jakucionis said when asked about surprising Heat coaches and teammates in attendance for Thursday’s workout. “All year I was telling them that I can dunk. But I wouldn’t show because I would like to just keep it a secret. But yeah, no one believed in me here. I think all the haters here, Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] didn’t believe in me, [Simone Fontecchio], no one. No one believed in me, so I kind of just had to prove them wrong.”

Despite not getting any dunks yet this season, Jakucionis has earned the trust of his teammates and coaches as a rookie. He has logged double-digit minutes in 20 straight games leading into Friday’s contest in Cleveland after playing only 53.7 seconds in the NBA through the Heat’s first 26 games of the season.

Now, the next step for Jakucionis is to get his first NBA in-game dunk. There’s only two weeks left in the regular season.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Jakucionis said when asked if he’ll get his first NBA in-game dunk during his rookie season. “It depends on the opportunities and how I feel that day, and if I get the chance.”

JAQUEZ AVAILABLE

The Heat upgraded Jaquez from questionable to probable and eventually to available for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers.

Jaquez is dealing with a sprained right ankle that he suffered when he stepped on Cavaliers guard James Harden’s foot during Wednesday’s win in Cleveland.

Jaquez left Wednesday’s game with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. He totaled 14 points and five assists in 19 minutes off the Heat’s bench before exiting the contest.

“It was definitely painful,” Jaquez said after Friday’s morning shootaround. “It never is pleasant rolling an ankle. Initially the pain is pretty severe, but after a little bit it kind of winds down. So that’s kind of what happened. I went back, retaped, but we were already in such a good groove and the guys were out there playing so great.”

While Jaquez will play on Friday, the Heat remains without Vlad Goldin (G League), Trevor Keels (G League), Jahmir Young (G League) and Terry Rozier (not with team).

The Cavaliers are getting starting center Jarrett Allen back for Friday’s matchup against the Heat. Allen missed the previous 10 games due to right knee tendonitis.

But the Cavaliers ruled out Tristan Enaruna (G League), Craig Porter Jr. (left groin strain), Jaylon Tyson (left great toe bone bruise) and Dean Wade (right ankle sprain).