The Golden State Valkyries selected Juste Jocyte as the team's first pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft (and the fifth overall), but the young star soon announced she would be spending last season overseas. Jocyte's arrival in the US to play for the Valkyries has not yet been clarified, and that's a question that will hopefully be answered during free agency.
In December, Jocyte announced she will play in Project B, the women's professional 5x5 basketball league that will rotate countries and continents through a series of tournaments. Right now, players who are signed up with Project B shouldn't miss the WNBA season due to that obligation, but there are rumblings that the W could extend its season into November. That could cause issues — Project B is also set to begin in November — but that won't be clear for some time.
Jocyte also confirmed she plans to attend the Valkyries' training camp this year. That is set to begin the week of April 18, which gives the team a handful of days to extend an offer and have it signed. The Valkyries currently own Jocyte's rights as a player, but have not signed her to a contract with the team. She also hasn't updated her social media accounts with any new information, and the Valkyries haven't directly addressed whether she'll still be coming to the U.S. this season.
Juste Jocyte has had a strong season overseas
Jocyte has been averaging 14.2 points and 4.3 assists in the EuroLeague while playing for Uni Girona in Spain. She was recently named a finalist for the Rising Star Award alongside Leila Lacan and Carla Leite, who play for the Connecticut Sun and Portland Fire, respectively. (Leite and Jocyte were both drafted to the Valkyries last year; the Fire selected Leite in this year's expanion draft.)
The Valkyries still have every reason to expect big things from Jocyte once she's in the States and playing for the team. Her debut in EuroLeague was impressive, and the young hooper, who has competed in the U16 and U18 EuroBasket competitions, emerged as the leading scorer for Lithuania during last summer's tournament.
Jocyte's ability to grow with the Valkyries will depend on a lot of factors, but she brings the ability to get to the rim and to hit jumpers to the team — two skills Golden State will appreciate. Her 2026 WNBA season fate should be decided soon, and hopefully the team will finally give her the chance to show fans why she was their top pick in the first place.