Who is Juste Jocyte? Valkyries make splash with first-ever draft pick

The Golden State Valkyries made history with their first WNBA Draft selection, as Juste Jocyte became one of the youngest players ever drafted into the W.

Jocyte, 19, joins the Valkyries organization as the fifth overall pick. Born in Washington, D.C., Jocyte (her name is pronounced “You-steh Yo-chee-teh”) grew up in Lithuania and has been playing professionally overseas since she was 14.

Many external mock drafts predicted Jocyte to go outside the top-10 — a note that was acknowledged by Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin.

“A lot of the mock drafts were taking into consideration things that we haven’t said that we’re taking into consideration, and so I don’t necessarily want to be paired up to what others thought,” Nyanin said after the pick.

“We’re super excited about the athletes that we got, and there was a lot of work that went behind the scenes, and I would say very thankful for the team that I work with, because nobody knew that we were going to pick Juste, and that’s a great thing for us.”

Jocyte’s selection continues a roster-building trend in Golden State that has tilted toward international players. With 10, the expansion team has the most rostered international players in the WNBA.

It’s unclear if Jocyte will play immediately for the Valkyries, whose inaugural season tips off May 16. Nyanin said Jocyte’s availability is “in flux” and will be clarified before training camp starts April 27.

Jocyte helped lead her national team to the EuroBasket final round, which is scheduled for June, and she’s known to prioritize that competition over the WNBA.

Lithuania isn’t a traditional powerhouse, making the EuroBasket final berth even more important. Jocyte averaged 17 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in four preliminary games.

A 6-foot-2, crafty wing, Jocyte has been playing for ASVEL Lyon — former NBA star Tony Parker’s club in France — since 2019. She has shared the court with Dominique Malonga, the second overall pick, for the past four seasons.

Jocyte is a left-handed shooter who has shown the ability to shoot both off the catch and the bounce. She doesn’t have elite burst or vertical explosion, instead relying on basketball IQ and skill to beat defenders off the dribble.

For years, Jocyte has been tested against bigger, older competition. She became the youngest player ever in both the top French league and the EuroLeague — the highest pro European league for women — in 2019. That experience should be valuable in the older, more physical WNBA. Only 11 players have ever played as a teenager.

Jocyte led Lithuania to the U18 EuroBasket gold medal in 2022, dropping 28 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the championship win over Spain. She went 16-for-19 at the foul line that game.

Domestic players aren’t eligible for the WNBA Draft until they turn 21. The Valkyries were able to select her — with the first pick by an expansion team since 2008 — earlier because she played overseas and has Lithuanian citizenship.

With the 17th pick, the Valkyries selected Shyanne Sellers out of Maryland. She slipped in the draft compared to expectations, perhaps because of a knee injury that sidelined her for stretches during the season.

The Valkyries also drafted Kaitlyn Chen at No. 30. A pass-first guard, Chen is coming off a national championship win with Connecticut. According to Taipei Times, Chen is the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted to the WNBA; both her parents are Taiwanese immigrants who raised her in San Marino, California.