A POINT guard who brings plenty of height to the position, Kasparas Jakucionis is an intriguing prospect heading towards the 2025 NBA Draft in June.

His positional size is clearly a massive positive, and a reflection of the direction the modern game is heading, with height and physical traits becoming more and more impressive by the year. Jakucionis is also one of the more clever players in the draft class, showing serious poise, decision making and IQ with ball in hand.

Although there are concerns around his explosiveness and ability to get by his opponent, there is certainly enough upside in other parts of his game to suggest he can be a seriously good player at NBA level.

Throughout the season playing for the Illinois Fighting Illini, Jakucionis averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 44 per cent shooting from the field in a campaign that moved him up the draft boards.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will run through some of the clearest comparisons to already established NBA talents, with Jakucionis boasting similarities to some of the best playmaking guards of the modern era.

Chauncey Billups – Detroit Pistons

One of the best point guards of the 2000’s, Billups and Jakucionis have a lot of similarities in their creativity with ball in hand. An integral member of the championship winning Detroit Pistons squad, Billups made life a lot easier for his teammates. Although not the most athletic player, Billups had some of the best court vision in the NBA, and worked his teammates into the game with terrific leading passes. The same can be said for Jakucionis, who boasts similar vision when running the point guard and similarly can create extremely well for others. If Jakucionis can produce a similar resume to Billups, it will make for a successful NBA career.

Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana Pacers

Haliburton has single-handedly turned the fortunes of the Pacers around since joining the team via trade a couple of years ago, and Jakucionis has the potential to do the same. Haliburton was initially selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 draft, but was dealt to the Pacers in 2022, and has since become the face of the franchise. He is an extremely talented offensive presence, capable of finding the bottom of the net himself, or making tight passes to teammates. Both players have a high basketball IQ, boast clutch abilities as scorers and make their teammates better, and Jakucionis will be hoping to perform as well as Haliburton has.

Austin Reaves – Los Angles Lakers

Although Reaves is much more of a scorer than Jakucionis, both players have similarities in positional size and ability to perform down the stretch. Reaves has been a revelation for the Lakers, joining Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent in 2021, and is now apart of the big three with LeBron James and Luka Doncic. There are clear differences in terms of style of play, given Reaves is much more of a shotmaker, while Jakucionis is a better playmaker, but they are both tall for their position as a combo guard, with Reaves standing six-foot-five, while Jakucionis is an inch taller. If the latter can develop his scoring game at the top level, the similarities may grow even further.