Golden State Valkyries fans gather at Thrive City to watch WNBA draft
San Francisco basketball fans gathered to watch the WNBA draft as the Golden State Valkyries chose Juste Jocyte with the fifth pick in the first round.
Valkyries diehards learned who would be Golden State's first-ever draft pick alongside each other at Thrive City.
"It wasn't what we predicted, right, and we never know what is going to happen on the backend, right? So, welcome to San Francisco, pick number 5 and let's see how it ends," said Rice.
Juste Jocyte a 6-foot guard from Lithuania may not have the biggest name recognition among the players coming into the league this year but many fans told us they're still hopeful she along with the team's other two draft picks will make their mark.
"I've been hearing them talk about it. I see that they're saving their money up. We're excited for any team, but we were hoping for one of the stars. But I'm excited," said Candace Monroe-Speed, a Valkyries fan.
In addition to Jocyte, the Valkyries drafted Shyanne Sellers of Maryland and Kaitlyn Chen of UConn.
They join a Valkyries team that will be coached by Natalie Nakase, who spent the last three years with the Las Vegas Aces as an assistant.
Fans watching the draft from the Valkyries watch party at Thrive City told KPIX they're excited to finally see the team together and ready for action.
"I mean, they've drafted a lot of players with a lot of international experience. They have a very experienced team even though they're a brand new team and It think the fact that so many of them have played pro before like either in the WNBA or overseas so there's a lot of different perspectives coming in, a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different experiences so I think it's going to be really good," said Anousha Nejad, a Valkyries fan.
Over 10,000 fans have already bought season tickets for this inaugural season including Lana Rice. She said no matter who's out there on the court, she knows the fans will get behind them 100 percent.
"Absolutely, best season they can have, that it'll exceed anything they can imagine thinking of and ask for, that we will all be wowed in the outcome of their season," said Rice.
CBS News Bay Area is the official media partner of the Valkyries; more than 30 games will air on KPIX and PIX Plus.
Jose Fabian contributed to this report.
