{"id":238722,"date":"2025-10-20T14:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/238722\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T14:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:06:08","slug":"hidden-gem-continues-to-prove-valkyries-made-the-right-call-on-draft-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/238722\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden gem continues to prove Valkyries made the right call on draft day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Valkyries\u2019 somewhat surprisingly successful inaugural season wasn\u2019t built on the team\u2019s offensive talent or high scoring potential. Golden State only ranked tenth in offensive rating\u2014the worst mark among playoff teams. It was the team\u2019s defense that allowed Natalie Nakase\u2019s squad to find success. The Valkyries assembled a roster of gritty role players that battled hard on defense whether their shots were falling or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shots weren\u2019t falling a lot of times<\/a> for the Valkyries, but they still managed to compile a 23-21 record and become the first expansion team to go to the playoffs in its first season. The Valkyries\u2019 offense was very reliant on 3-point shooting. They led the league in 3-point attempts with 29.9 per game, but converted only an average of 32.5%. The only teams that shot worse than that were the Sun and Wings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A successful free agency period should help improve the Valkyries\u2019 offense. Ballhalla is now firmly established as a place some strong free agents should want to play in, and, with most of the league entering free agency, the Valkyries should be able to upgrade the roster. Bringing in their hidden gem should also help boost the Valkyries\u2019 offense. Just\u00e9 Jocyt\u00e9 just put on a phenomenal 3-point shooting display in Spain. Jocyt\u00e9 was the Valkyries\u2019 first-ever draft pick\u2014a choice that surprised many and caused some fans to wonder why they didn\u2019t choose a more well-known college player. However, Jocyt\u00e9 continues to put together impressive performances for a player as young as she is and to showcase a skill set the Valkyries could definitely use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just\u00e9 Jocyt\u00e9 is preparing for her first WNBA season<\/p>\n

Jocyt\u00e9 didn\u2019t join the Valkyries after they drafted her. Instead, the teenager represented Lithuania at EuroBasket and is now in the midst of her first EuroLeague season since the 2023-24 campaign<\/a>. It should easily be her most productive season yet, as she is a full-time starter and one of Girona\u2019s main scoring options. After that, she is still expected to join the Valkyries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jocyt\u00e9 played well in her first EuroLeague game of the season, but struggled against Praha, going 0-6 from the field. On October 19, she put together her best game of the season. She scored 22 points, including five made 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, recorded four steals, and dished out seven assists against Joventut in her third game in the Spanish league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jocyt\u00e9\u2019s ability and willingness to shoot threes have been on full display this season. Over five games, she took 32 threes and made 14 of them. Despite being the youngest player on the roster, Jocyt\u00e9 isn\u2019t shy about taking shots. That willingness to shoot threes should allow her to quickly carve out a role in the Valkyries\u2019 offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her accuracy would also be a welcome addition. Over the course of the season, nine Valkyries players attempted an average of at least three 3-pointers, including Chloe Bibby and Julie Vanloo, who were waived from the team. Out of that group, four shot over 40% and one over 35%. There is no guarantee that any of those players will be on next season\u2019s roster, but it seems very likely that the Valkyries will do their best to bring back Iliana Rupert, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Janelle Sala\u00fcn. Still, adding a young 3-point shooter with star potential to the mix can only help the Valkyries. The only question is how well and how quickly Jocyt\u00e9\u2019s offensive talent will translate to the WNBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Valkyries\u2019 somewhat surprisingly successful inaugural season wasn\u2019t built on the team\u2019s offensive talent or high scoring potential.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-238722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}