Gabriela Jaquez’s first four WNBA games made her look wise beyond her years.
The rookie made bold drives to the basket. She came up with steals in crucial moments. She did the little things, getting deflections and sprinting the floor in transition.
“This is no rookie,” veteran Natasha Cloud said after the Sky beat the Lynx on the road, complimenting Jaquez’s immediate grasp of the pro game.
The Sky were forming an identity that reflected players like Cloud and Jaquez — gritty underdogs, jacks-of-all-trades if masters of none. They were 3-1 then, and one could almost taste the victorious trajectory: Jaquez would prove she was a sleeper pick at No. 5, and the Sky would prove their roster retool had made them worthy of the playoffs.
The Sky’s unraveling will need to be studied for years to come. Jaquez’s fall-off is layered too, but a hyperextended knee in late May definitely knocked her off course.
By the time she returned from the injury, the Sky were in the depths of an eight-game losing streak.
She still drove hard into the paint, but seemed unsure whether to finish with a floater or pull up jumper. She generated fewer steals and was no longer always in the right place at the right time.
She looked more like a rookie. She was also treated more like one, or at least like a player who had not fully earned her coach’s trust.
At times, Jaquez was a steady part of the rotation. In other games, she played fewer than five minutes.
Unsurprisingly, her production declined. In her first 14 games, Jaquez averaged 9.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 33% from three-point range. Since June 26, she’s averaged only 4.4 points and two rebounds while shooting 19.4% from three.
Jaquez was asked this past Saturday about the challenge of establishing herself despite inconsistent playing time. She answered as she typically does: by demonstrating a growth mindset and a willingness to make the most of any opportunity.
“It’s not gonna be easy,” she said. “Nothing’s handed to you. Obviously, I have had my ups and downs, more playing time, less playing time. Knowing that every game’s gonna bring something different and I just have to stay ready. We have a lot of guards on this team, but when I go in, how can I make a difference? How can I bring a spark? That’s just my mentality.”
It’s a realistic, pro’s answer.
Still, the sudden reversal of fortune over the past five months has to be frustrating for the 22-year-old. In April, she won the national championship at UCLA, was drafted No. 5 and became a key contributor on a surprisingly good team.
Now there are four games left in the regular season, her team missed the playoffs and her role never solidified.
When pressed about Jaquez’s playing time, as coaches of lottery picks inevitably are, Tyler Marsh has said the inconsistency is not about her, per se. The Sky have a lot of guards, it is difficult to find minutes for everyone, and he has gone with whoever is playing well on a given night.
In Marsh’s defense, all of that is true. He has to respond to the flow of a game. But the moment the Sky were eliminated from the playoffs — almost a month ago now — he should have pivoted and prioritized Jaquez. Instead, her minutes have only increased meaningfully in the last two games.
It raises some harsh questions for the organization.
Should they have drafted another guard, such as Flau’jae Johnson or Kiki Rice, both of whom have produced more complete rookie seasons?
Or did the coaching staff mishandle her development or rattle her confidence?
Self-doubt about her recent struggles could be holding her back.
What Jaquez needs to remember is this: The player who came out of the gates with confidence — driving hard, disrupting passing lanes and doing all the little things — did not disappear.
The last four games of the regular season should be all about finding her again.
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