Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis Declares for 2025 NBA Draft, B/R's No. 13 Ranked Player

Illinois guard Kasparas Jakučionis is entering the 2025 NBA draft.

"This has been my dream from a young age," he said to ESPN's Jonathan Givony. "I've waited for this moment a long time. Saying good bye to Illinois will be the hardest part. I've made friendships and built real relationships with players, coaches, support staff, and everyone around Champaign. My goal now is to work as hard as I can, and be the best version of myself."

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report ranked Jakučionis 13th overall in his most recent big board.

The 6'6" freshman averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game with the Fighting Illini. He shot 44.0 percent overall and 31.8 percent from the perimeter.

Jakučionis was named to the All-Big Ten third team and the conference's All-Freshman squad.

Wasserman compared the Lithuanian to Hall of Fame point guard Chauncey Billups in terms of his skill set and playing style.

"Without ideal quickness or explosion, Kasparas Jakučionis uses positional size, change of speed, timing, shotmaking and finishing craft," the draft expert wrote. "He's a skilled, high-feel guard, capable of both scoring 20 or quarterbacking offense as a setup passer.

"I have some doubts about how well or consistently he'll be able to create easy looks for himself. And opposing NBA guards are going to attack his defense.

"Offensively, however, Jakučionis has the type of skill versatility and clever improvisation to overcome athletic limitations."

The NIL era has given college athletes more to contemplate when it comes to the draft. In some cases, the endorsement money is enough to effectively cover what a player would earn in the pros, and there's the opportunity to improve their stock and be in a stronger position the following year.

With Jakučionis already a potential lottery selection, the allure of the NBA was clearly too good to pass up.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, meanwhile, has some reinforcements on the way. The Illini have signed 4-star guard Brandon Lee and 3-star guard Keaton Wagler to fortify their backcourt, and big man Zvonimir Ivišić transferred in from Arkansas to join brother Tomislav.