The Miami Heat are one team with a balanced group of both young stars and experienced veterans. Over the past few years, the Heat have drafted well with their first-round draft selections including Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic. Their rookie class this season made some noise later on throughout the campaign after not having a strong impact early on.
Bleacher Report released a new article, grading every NBA team's rookie class this season. The two rookies highlighted in the article include the Heat's first-round pick from last offseason, Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, and undrafted free agent forward Myron Gardner. The Heat received a solid "B" grade.
"Kasparas Jakucionis and Myron Gardner both made an impact for the Miami Heat this season, despite one being a 2025 first-round pick and the other having gone undrafted in 2023. Jakucionis is a big, do-it-all-guard who shot the ball extremely well. In his 12 starts he put up 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and made 45.8 percent of his three-pointers. With Norman Powell hitting free agency this summer, Jakučionis may be primed for an even big role next year. Gardner is a good rebounding wing who became part of Erik Spoelstra's rotation and even starting five for stretches during the middle of the season," the article added. "His total rebound and assist percentages were extremely comparable to those of Bam Adebayo's."
Jakucionis, the No. 20 selection in the draft, was originally viewed as one of the biggest steals of the first round this past offseason but after a poor Summer League performance along with his recovery from a groin injury, he was assigned to the Heat’s G-League affiliate to begin the season. However, once he became a regular fixture of the rotation in Dec., he made the most of it. The guard averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range.
Gardner, originally on a two-way contract, became a solid mainstay in the rotation since the beginning of January. During the season, he later signed a three-year standard contract. He filled in for Andrew Wiggins during his absence in March, starting seven games.
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