{"id":537,"date":"2026-05-26T14:13:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=537"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:13:44","slug":"a-glimpse-of-what-shes-capable-of-inside-juste-jocytes-valkyries-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=537","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A glimpse of what she’s capable of\u2019: Inside Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117\u2019s Valkyries debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 The anticipation was palpable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the <\/span>Valkyries<\/span> were handling their business on the court \u2013 building a lead as large as 34 against the lowly <\/span>Connecticut Sun<\/span> \u2013 the Ballhalla faithful was waiting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Waiting for their 2025 first-round pick. Waiting for their young star. Waiting for the player that they\u2019ve been watching dominate the competition overseas.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday night, <\/span>Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117<\/span> gave a small glimpse of what the Valkyries have been patiently anticipating since they drafted her 405 days ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jocyt\u0117 made her Valkyries debut in the Valkyries 97-70 win over the Sun. She only played five minutes, and scored five points and had two assists in garbage time minutes in the fourth quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But with every play she made, the Valkyries bench and the sellout crowd of 18,064 could see the potential the young 20-year-old guard had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust being able to watch her grow up, bragging about her, telling everybody how good she\u2019s gonna be when she gets here,\u201d Valkyries forward Gabby Williams said. \u201cThis is just like a glimpse of what she\u2019s capable of, and I\u2019m just excited that she\u2019s here.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jocyt\u0117 had her first practice with the Valkyries on Sunday, trying to still learn Golden State\u2019s playbook.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Up until 35 minutes before game time, there was still no word on whether or not Jocyt\u0117 would be active for Monday\u2019s game. But that didn\u2019t stop her from going through her normal game day routine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her morning started off with a team shoot around where she got her body loose and her shot ready. Then Jocyt\u0117 took a nap, something she said is mandatory before any game she played. She went through pregame warm ups and stretches before the team officially made her active at 6:25 p.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s game presented a perfect opportunity for the Valkyries to get Jocyt\u0117 acclimated to the Valkyries\u2019 system. Even without fully knowing the playbook, Jocyt\u0117 would ideally get to play in a low-stakes situation with Golden State expected to blow out a Connecticut team without star Brittney Griner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said Jocyt\u0117 was going to be on a minutes restriction regardless but with the lead getting larger and the eyes of the crowd staring at Jocyt\u0117 with every move she made on the bench, there was an overwhelming feeling that Jocyt\u0117 was going to be on the floor at some point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

With the Valkyries\u2019 lead continuing to balloon into the third quarter, Jocyt\u0117 went to the front of the home side hallway. The medical staff brought out the stationary bike and told Jocyt\u0117 to get her legs warm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the third quarter ended, instead of handing out daps and making small-talk with her teammates, Jocyt\u0117 started her warmups. In the break between the third and fourth quarter, she did a set of high knees followed by some light jogging sideline to sideline. While Nakase broke down some fourth-quarter adjustments, Jocyt\u0117 had her eyes on the clipboard but did a few squats to activate her legs even more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was just like a little kid, I couldn\u2019t wait,\u201d Jocyt\u0117 said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then it happened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the 4:48 mark, Nakase gave her nod. Williams pushed her toward the scorers table. And Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton screamed words of encouragement to their rook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As she took off her warmups, the crowd got on their feet. The Valkyries were up 29 at that point, but it felt like the fans were preparing for a fourth-quarter rally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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After checking in for Kaila Charles, Jocyt\u0117 joined the Valkyries\u2019 huddle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the direction of point guard Kaitlyn Chen, Jocyt\u0117 planted herself underneath the basket for Golden State\u2019s out-of-bounds play. She ran to the top of the key to set a screen to free up Janelle Sala\u00fcn, then received a cross screen from Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda.<\/span><\/p>\n

The screen gave Jocyt\u0117 a sliver of daylight and she curled for an open shot in the short corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Swish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It took 37 seconds from the time she came off the bench to the time she recorded her first WNBA basket.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018does she know the play?\u2019 and the coaches were like, \u2018she knows it, she knows it,\u2019\u201d Nakase said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next three minutes showed everyone all they needed to know about Jocyt\u0117.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the few offensive possessions the Valkyries had remaining, Jocyt\u0117 showed her skills. The young Lithuanian guard executed pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll with efficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sun tried to trap the rookie to try and force a live ball turnover. But Jocyt\u0117 has seen that coverage a million times before. She quickly swung the ball, relocated and got the ball back late in the shot clock when she drained an open 3-pointer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the next offensive possession, the Sun once again trapped her on a pick-and-roll but this time stayed home on shooters. Jocyt\u0117 quickly scanned the floor and hit Ashten Prechtel for a wide open layup at the rim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI liked it. There was a lot of space for me to create,\u201d Jocyt\u0117 said of the pick-and-rolls the Valkyries ran. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of space for the things that I like to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jocyt\u0117 showed some weakness on the defensive end where she picked up two fouls, but the fight was there. When fellow rookie Gianna Kneepkens hit a contested jumper with Jocyt\u0117 draped all over her, the former UCLA standout gave her a tap on the back in a show of respect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the final buzzer went off and Rihanna\u2019s hit song \u201cThis Is What You Came For\u201d hit the Chase Center speakers, everyone in the arena saw Jocyt\u0117\u2019s talent on full display, even if it was in five meaningless garbage time minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No one had a bigger smile on their face than owner Joe Lacob and general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, who both gave Jocyt\u0117 a high five and congratulated her on a great game as she came off the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the whole organization watching \u2013 Lacob sitting courtside, Nyanin inside the building and Nakase on the bench \u2013 Jocyt\u0117 flashed the potential they\u2019ve all been waiting for. And in five minutes, Jocyt\u0117 gave all of them exactly what they\u2019d been selling to anyone who would listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for this for a long time, especially since I was drafted,\u201d Jocyt\u0117 said. \u201cEven just getting in at the end, you got to stay ready because you just never know and I think I was ready. I don\u2019t really feel pressure that much because it\u2019s those kinds of games I\u2019ve played in a bunch my whole life. But it was really fun to do it in this atmosphere.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Valkyries\u2019 rookie Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117 made her WNBA debut in Monday\u2019s win over Connecticut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A glimpse of what she’s capable of\u2019: Inside Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117\u2019s Valkyries debut - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=537\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018A glimpse of what she’s capable of\u2019: Inside Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117\u2019s Valkyries debut - 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