Valkyries Rookie Juste Jocyte at Golden State Valkyries Media Day. (Photo: Golden State Valkyries)
SAN FRANCISCO — Since the onset of the Golden State Valkyries’ training camp, Head Coach Natalie Nakase has preached about the importance of two roster-building pillars: continuity and connectivity. With General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin echoing Nakase’s sentiments, “Continuity and Connectivity” has become both the identity and mantra of the 2026 Golden State Valkyries. With the addition of 2025 first round pick Justė Jocytė to the active roster, it would be fair to wonder if integrating Jocytė into the Valkyries’ rotation would disrupt continuity or improve connectivity.
After 405 days since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft, 20-year-old guard/wing Jocytė made her official WNBA debut when the Valkyries hosted the Connecticut Sun at Chase Center on Memorial Day. Although Nakase acknowledged that the Sun were a young and hungry group of players who were all trying to make a name for themselves, the Valkyries did not overlook or underestimate their opponents. The final result was what many fans expected: a 97-70 rout which was not particularly competitive after the first quarter.
With developmental player Ashten Prechtel activated for the game, the Valkyries had 13 active players and all 13 of them received playing time. In Nakase’s “Everybody Eats” read-and-react offense, 12 players scored at least one point, thus tying the WNBA record for most players from the same team to score in a single game.
“This is a long season,” said Valkyries wing Gabby Williams. “This is a really long season, so our depth is going to be our strength. Knowing that these players from one to 12 to 13 are going to have confidence throughout the whole season, that’s going to be huge for us. I know it’s only game six, but these minutes here are going to pay off in November.”
For many, Monday night’s matchup will be remembered for Jocytė’s 4:48 of playing time that accomplished two things simultaneously: 1) Jocytė reminded Ballhalla why she was such a highly-coveted prospect for several years and 2) Jocytė and the Valkyries put the league on notice that Golden State has another level (or levels) that they can hit before reaching their absolute peak as a team.
For the last several weeks, Nakase has reiterated that Jocytė would receive ample time to get acclimated to her new situation: adjusting her internal clock to the Pacfic time zone, resting and recuperating after a long season with Spar Girona, and getting her overall bearings in a new city and country. But as for her fit with the Valkyries, Nakase made it clear that integrating Jocytė into the team was not about altering her game to mimic what the current Valkyries players already do; rather, integrating the Lithuanian basketball prodigy was about determining to what extent her playmaking creativity could flourish given the talented veterans she would be joining.
“We drafted Justė to be Justė,” Nakase succinctly said after the team’s practice ahead of the game versus Connecticut. To be clear, Nakase was not suggesting that Jocytė would be receiving special treatment because of her draft status. On the contrary, Nakase has emphasized that Jocytė brings enough playmaking versatility that she can pick her spots within the Valkyries’ read-and-react offense and display her pick-and-roll dynamism.
Juste Jocyte handling the ball in the 4th quarter vs the Connecticut Sun with Gianna Kneepkens and Hailey Van Lith showing on defense. (Photo: Lucina M)
“I think I can bring more calmness; more pick-and-roll play,” said Jocytė after her first full practice with the team. “I feel like this team is very good at one-on-one, isolation plays, and spacing out. Of course, I will have to get used to it. I’m not that type of player fully, I prefer pick-and-roll, but I can bring a different balance.”
With the Valkyries up 29 points with 4:48 to go in the fourth quarter, Jocytė finally checked into the game. Five seconds later, Jocytė scored her first WNBA points. Jocytė motioned for Sidelines Out of Bounds Flex Action in which Jocytė initially set a back screen for Janelle Salaün. After creating space for Salaün, Jocytė received a cross screen from fellow rookie Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda. That cross screen allowed Jocytė to curl towards the baseline for a 14-foot catch-and-shoot jumper.
The Flex play itself highlighted Jocytė’s ability to bring screen and relocation elements without necessarily running a direct pick-and-roll. Even on the next play that Jocytė was involved in, the Valkyries ran a Horns Set in which the inside screener followed Jocytė as she attacked the elbow. But because Jocytė motioned a dribble handoff as she was getting closer to breaking the paint, the defense began to crash on-ball, and this allowed Jocytė to fire off a pinpoint and layered pass right back to the second double-screener for an open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.
After the game, Nakase praised Jocytė for how quickly she learned the plays. Jocytė’s limited yet highly productive game action not only showed her preparedness and high basketball IQ, but it also further illustrated how Jocytė can bring balance to the Valkyries’ offense.
Coming from Euroleague, Jocytė admits she has thrived and finds more comfort in offenses that feature structured sets and designed plays. But as Jocytė showed in her limited minutes versus Connecticut, every designed play has a multitude of options if the team can read the defense and their teammates’ off-ball movements at the same time. To have a player who can make those types of reads simultaneously brings balance to their team’s offense. And in turn, that balance will only strengthen the team’s connectivity.
Kailtyn Chen, Juste Jocyte and Kaila Charles celebrating a Valkyries scoring run vs the Connecticut Sun on May 25, 2026. (Photo: Golden State Valkyries)
When discussing Jocytė’s debut performance, Williams said with a big smile on her face, “This is just a glimpse of what she’s capable of.”
Given that the Valkyries are currently ranked first in the league in Net Rating (+12.4), first in Defensive Rating (99.4), and third in Offensive Rating (111.8), Williams’ statement should have the team and fans salivating at the thought of what this team can ultimately accomplish moving forward. For the rest of the league, Williams’ assessment may serve as a DEFCON warning.
As a student of the sport, Jocytė told The Podium Finish ahead of the game versus the Connecticut Sun that she recognized the offensive improvements the team has made since last season but she, like most fans, has noticed that the team still plays at the slowest pace in the league (76.7). Having said that, Jocytė has already begun thinking about how her game can amplify and optimize what the Valkyries do offensively.
“I don’t know yet if I can actually help (increase the pace) but I think I can bring that diversity with sometimes playing ISO and sometimes just calming things down,” Jocytė explained. “I know this team’s identity – they want to run; they want to play fast and everything. But I feel like sometimes to do that, it helps to also change the tempo of the game. You cannot just run the whole game. People get tired. So, I think maybe by bringing the slower pace, people can actually be faster and bring more energy.”
The Valkyries’ slow pace does come with its share of benefits. Through six games, Golden State is averaging the fewest turnovers per game (10.0) and has recorded the most efficient turnover percentage (an estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays) in the league with an 11.0% TOV%. Even though only 14.4% of Golden State’s offensive possessions are used on pick-and-roll plays, the Valkyries are registering a 51.9 TS% when scoring off this type of action.
Although Golden State’s returning core players have made significant and tangible improvements on the offensive end, it is not far-fetched to envision a reality in which adding Jocytė’s pick-and-roll mastery will allow the Valkyries to experience more consistency on a possession-to-possession basis while also creating more structural spacing in every given play. Given her length, court vision and 3P marksmanship (career 35.9% 3P% on 3.8 3PA per game), Jocytė may be that rare player who is both a team’s offensive catalyst as well as one of the team’s most dependable connective players.
Jocytė will be the first person to remind fans that there is a lot of work ahead before she truly works her way into the Valkyries’ main rotation. However, it is possible that her best path to consistent playing time is to have her success reflected in the production of her teammates that she projects to play alongside with. One such player who may benefit from playing with Jocytė is none other than former Euroleague rival, Janelle Salaün.
Spar Girona G Juste Jocyte defending USK Praha F Janelle Salaun in Euroleague play. (Photo: Spar Girona)
While Jocytė strives to bring calmness to the court, Salaün embraces and thrives in chaotic situations. Scramble plays, late shot clock action and bailout scenarios are all the high-pressure moments that Salaün finds herself engulfed in on a regular basis. Although those highly contested made field goals are exhilarating for Ballhalla, that is not the type of shot diet that helps a non-ball handling player like Salaün establish an early rhythm in games.
To date, Salaün is shooting 48.5% from the field when she is scoring out of Pick-and-Pop (PNP) plays. However, only 7.3% of Salaün’s total field goal attempts come via PNP action. While Veronica Burton and Kaitlyn Chen (both 5’9″) have been a fantastic point guard duo, it would stand to reason that the 6’2″ Salaün could get even more wide open looks if she had a 6’2″ wing to deliver clean passes into her shooting pocket by literally passing over the top of the defense.
“Her (Salaün’s) shot – it is basically impossible to contest it or to even block it,” Jocytė astutely pointed out to The Podium Finish. “She worked on that shot to get it that high, and I think it’s a real advantage. And for her to be making clutch shots, it’s good to have somebody like that on our team.”
As Nakase spends the next 38 regular season games determining the best 5-player lineups, those combinations tend to reveal themselves when a one-two punch materializes. Despite being two of the younger players on the roster, Jocytė and Salaün have the contrasting yet complementary skills that could form a potent PNP duo that provides the Valkyries with more functional stability.
For a young franchise that has received as much praise for their on-court success as they have received criticism for their roster and draft transactions, the Valkyries have always remained steadfast in sticking to their convictions. Valkyries Owner Joe Lacob, Nyanin and Nakase have never wavered in their shared belief that waiting for Jocytė was the right move for the short and long-term outlooks of the team. With a player like Jocytė, whose game is rooted in connectivity, it makes sense why they preached patience with her eventual arrival.
A new chapter is being written in Ballhalla. Welcome to the Justė Jocytė Era of Valkyries Basketball!
