To the surprise of fans (and reporters), the Golden State Valkyries drafted Lithuanian Justė Jocytė (her name is pronounced YOU-steh Yo-CHEE-teh) in the first round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. The 19-year-old combo guard and wing is already being floated as a contender for Rookie of the Year this season — that is, if she comes over from Europe to play for Golden State in the first place.
The Valkyries front office has admitted they aren't entirely sure that will happen. While speaking to reporters after the draft, GM Ohemaa Nyanin said, "She's a phenomenal athlete. She was the youngest athlete to play in the Euro League at 14 and we didn’t take that lightly. To have her be available at No. 5 was super important to us."
But... there's more. Jocytė's status with the team has been described as "in flux." Nyanin added that the Valkyries planned to speak to Jocytė on Tuesday to determine what will happen this season, and fans quickly noted that her jersey is already available online — but no official update has come through.
As fans wait for an update, plenty are learning all about Justė Jocytė for the first time. Here's everything you need to know about the Golden State Valkyries' first pick.
Justė Jocytė is Lithuanian and American
Jocytė is both Lithuanian and American, but because she lived outside the US for most her life, she is an international player and was able to enter the WNBA Draft at only 19 (American athletes have to wait until they have exhausted their college eligibility and/or are 22 years old). Jocytė was born in Washington, D.C., and her family returned to Lithuania after her father finished college.
She signed a professional basketball contract as a young teenager and let the Lithuanian under-16 team to a silver medal at the 2019 U16 European Championships when she was only 13 years old.
She has plenty of experience playing with another top draft pick
Jocytė has played with DLC ASVEL Féminin since 2019 — the same team the second overall draft pick Dominique Malonga played with. The basketball club is located in Lyon, France, and was founded by former NBA player Tony Parker. With Jocytė onboard, the team won the league twice and won the EuroCup in 2023.
She's averaged 12.7 points, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 35% from beyond the arc for ASVEL, and perhaps more importantly, has been playing against adult women since age 14 — a major part of what has helped her become so talente so quickly. So while she's a "rookie" in WNBA terms, she's not new to playing professional basketball against very talented women — including many Olympians — and with some adjustment will be able to hold her own.