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Justė Jocytė

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Justė Jocytė
Jocytė with ASVEL Féminin in 2025
No. 4 – Golden State Valkyries
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2005-11-19) 19 November 2005
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Listed height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Career information
WNBA draft2025: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Drafted byGolden State Valkyries
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Neptūnas Klaipėda
2019–2025ASVEL Lyon
2025–2026Uni Girona CB
2026–presentGolden State Valkyries
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference 
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket
Silver medal – second place2019 North MacedoniaTeam competition
FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place2022 GreeceTeam competition

Justė Veronika Jocytė[1] (born 19 November 2005) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Uni Girona CB of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. Jocytė was selected fifth overall by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 WNBA draft.

Professional career

Europe

Neptūnas Klaipėda (2019)

On 11 October 2019, Jocytė made a debut in the Moterų Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga (MLKL), recording 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, leading her team Neptūnas to an 81–59 win against Kibirkštis–Viči Vilnius.[2][3]

ASVEL Lyon (2019–2025)

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.[4][5] On 8 December, being 14 years and 19 days old, Jocytė became the youngest player to debut in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball.[6] On 18 December 2019, Jocytė became the youngest player (14 years and 29 days old) to debut in the EuroLeague Women.[7][8]

On 10 February 2023, Jocytė was selected as the 2022 Lithuanian Basketball Player of the Year, together with male counterpart Domantas Sabonis.[9]

Uni Girona CB (2025–present)

In April 2025, Jocytė signed with Uni Girona CB of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto.[10] On 4 February 2026, Jocytė was selected as the Lithuanian Women Basketball Player of the Year for a second time.[11]

WNBA

On 14 April 2025, Jocytė was selected fifth overall by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 WNBA draft, becoming the franchise's first-ever draft pick.[12] This is the all-time highest WNBA draft pick for a Lithuanian women basketball player.[13] She did not join the team for the 2025 season, choosing instead to focus on her national team duties for EuroBasket Women 2025.[14]

Golden State Valkyries (2026–present)

On 7 May 2026, Jocytė's rookie scale contract with Golden State Valkyries was activated, and she was announced as part of the team's roster ahead of the 2026 WNBA season.[15][16]

National team career

Jocytė with the senior Lithuania women's national basketball team in 2022

At just 13 years old, Jocytė led Lithuania under-16 team to a silver medal during the 2019 U16 European Championship.[17] She was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 19.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the tournament.[18][19]

On 8 October 2019, Jocytė was invited to Lithuania senior team.[20] 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.[21][22]

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.[23]

Jocytė strongly contributed to the Lithuania women's national team return to the EuroBasket Women after four previously missed tournaments. In the EuroBasket Women 2025 qualification, being just 18-19 years old, she averaged 17 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists.[24] In the EuroBasket Women 2025 she averaged 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game, however Lithuania was eliminated in the quarter-final by France (83–61).[24]

Personal life

Jocytė was born in Washington, D.C., United States.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] She is nicknamed the Baby-Faced Assassin.[28]

References

  1. "Justė Veronika Jocytė". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. "Justė Jocytė ir Audronė Zdanevičiūtė įspūdingai debiutavo Moterų lygoje". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  3. "Justė Veronika Jocytė". moterulyga.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  4. "Parašai sudėti: Justės Jocytės ateitis patikėta Parkerio valdomai akademijai". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. "Į Prancūziją atvykusi Jocytė pasitikta itin svetingai". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. "ASVEL klube debiutavusi Jocytė įėjo į Prancūzijos krepšinio istoriją". DELFI. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. "Jocyte becomes youngest player in modern EuroLeague Women history". FIBA. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  8. "Istorinis debiutas: Justė Jocytė tapo jauniausia visų laikų Eurolygos krepšininke". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  9. "Sabonis ir Jocytė – geriausi 2022 metų Lietuvos krepšininkai". Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Lithuanian). 10 February 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  10. "Juste Jocyte (ASVEL) attendue à Gérone la saison prochaine". BasketEurope.com (in French). 19 April 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  11. "Geriausi Lietuvos metų krepšininkai – Valančiūnas ir Jocytė". Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Lithuanian). 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  12. Canilao, Nathan (15 April 2025). "Golden State Valkyries select Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė fifth overall in WNBA draft". The Mercury News. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  13. "Istorinė naktis: Justė Jocytė – aukščiausiai WNBA biržoje pašaukta lietuvė". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  14. Ingemi, Marisa (16 May 2025). "First-round pick Juste Jocyte excited about her Valkyries debut next season". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  15. "Golden State Valkyries Announce Final 2026 Roster". Golden State Valkyries. 7 May 2026.
  16. "Valkyries 2026 Roster Preview". Golden State Valkyries. 7 May 2026.
  17. "Fantastika: 13-metės benefisas mačo pabaigoje atvedė lietuves į Europos čempionato finalą". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. "Anastasiia Kosu picks up MVP award after leading Russia to title, headlines All-Star Five". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  19. "Juste JOCYTE at the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship 2019". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  20. "13-metei Justei Jocytei – kvietimas į Lietuvos moterų rinktinę". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  21. "Jocytei rankos nedrebėjo: taiklus buvo jau pirmas jos metimas Lietuvos moterų rinktinėje". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  22. "Lithuania v Albania boxscore - FIBA Women's EuroBasket Qualifiers 2021". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  23. "Generational talent Juste Jocyte led Lithuania to U18 Women's EuroBasket gold". Basketnews. 15 August 2022.
  25. "Juste Jocyte, Basketball Player". Proballers.
  26. "Jocytė: apie taisytinus žaidimo elementus, madas Paryžiuje ir vaikinų dėmesį". LRT (in Lithuanian). 23 May 2020.
  27. "Moterų krepšinio perlas – Justė Jocytė: genuose užkoduotas krepšinis ir nerimas dėl ateities". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  28. "The Bay Has a New Baby-Faced Assassin: Justė Jocytė". valkyries.wnba.com. Retrieved 11 August 2025.