Justė Jocytė
Lithuanian basketball player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Justė Veronika Jocytė (born 19 November 2005) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions.[2][3]
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| No. 4 – Golden State Valkyries | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Shooting guard / small forward | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 November 2005 Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Lithuanian / American[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2025: 1st round, 5th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Golden State Valkyries | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Neptūnas Klaipėda | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2025 | ASVEL Lyon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025–present | Golden State Valkyries | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Professional career
On 11 October 2019, Jocytė made a solid debut in the Moterų Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga (MLKL), recording 21 points, five rebounds, five assistsa and three steals, leading her team Neptūnas to an 81–59 win against Kibirkštis–Viči Vilnius.[4]
In November 2019, Jocytė signed a three-year deal with the Tony Parker's ASVEL Lyon women's club and joined its youth team in the same month.[5][6] On 8 December, being 14 years and 19 days old, Jocytė became the youngest player to debut in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball, which is the top women's French professional basketball league.[7] On 18 December 2019, Jocytė became the youngest player (14 years and 29 days old) to debut in the EuroLeague Women, which is the highest professional basketball league in Europe for women's clubs.[8][9]
National team career
At just 13 years old, Jocytė led Lithuania under-16 team to a silver medal during the 2019 U16 European Championship.[10] She was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 19.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the tournament.[11][12]
On 8 October 2019, Jocytė was invited to Lithuania senior team.[13] Still being 13 years old, she made her debut with the national team on 14 November, during the EuroBasket 2019 qualification game in Kėdainiai, recording four points, one rebound and three assists, and helping the team to a 108–43 win over Albania senior team.[14][15]
On 14 August 2022, Jocytė led Lithuania under-18 team to a gold medal in the 2022 U18 European Championship finals against Spain under-18 team.[16]
Personal life
Jocytė was born in Washington, D.C., United States.[17] Her father, Alvydas Jocys, played basketball during his studies at Nebraska College. When the family returned to Palanga, Lithuania, her father continued to play in the amateur league.[18] Her uncle Evaldas Jocys played basketball professionally in Europe. She began attending basketball trainings in Palanga, her first coach was Daiva Mažionienė. After two years she moved to Klaipėda and began training with coach Ramunė Kumpienė.[19]
References
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