In April 2025, all eyes in the WNBA were locked on the No. 5 pick of the draft. It was set to be historic: the first-ever selection for the expansion Valkyries. When commissioner Cathy Engelbert stepped up to the podium at The Shed in Manhattan and called Juste Jocyte’s name, a tiny nation in Europe erupted in celebration. The Lithuanian prodigy was set to be the cornerstone of the franchise. Fast forward to today, and she cannot wait to get out of the Bay Area.

Winning a championship is a dream for everyone. The Valkyries did so in just their second year of existence, and in the process, Jocyte became the first-ever Lithuanian player to win a WNBA title. She celebrated with her teammates, boarded the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco, and rode through the city’s streets, celebrating with an ecstatic fanbase. But then she flew home and dropped a bombshell, exposing tensions with the coaching staff.

“I don’t really want to go back to that team,” Jocyte said in an interview with BasketNews.

“I took this win very ambiguously. I said at the season-ending conference that, on one hand, I understand the situation, why I didn’t play, but it’s such an ambiguous feeling. It’s fun for the team, but on the other hand, I didn’t contribute much. It’s both very fun and partly sad, because you don’t feel the same way; you don’t care as much.”

The 20-year-old guard also revealed that her relationship with head coach Natalie Nakase was strained. She never understood why she didn’t get enough playing time, averaging just 8.1 minutes across 16 regular-season games, and said the excuses given by the coaching staff were just not it. In the playoffs, she appeared just twice and played only two minutes in the Finals, coming in during garbage time of a Game 3 blowout loss to the Dream.

This was hard to digest for the young Lithuanian, who, before joining the WNBA, was celebrated as a hero in Europe. She shocked the world when she made her debut for her home nation at just 13 years old. She was also a two-time Lithuanian Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Expectations were sky-high, which arguably prompted Joe Lacob’s newest team to select her in the first round as a first-ever pick.

But in 2025, she sat out what was supposed to be her rookie WNBA season, as she was in Europe, repping Lithuania in EuroBasket. The players drafted ahead of her — Paige Bueckers, Dominique Malonga, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen — went on to become stars of the league. Jocyte impressed for her country, averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over six games, but it was always going to be the WNBA that was going to propel her to stardom.

Sadly, that didn’t happen upon her return to the Valkyries in 2026. There was buzz when she made her debut against the Sun and scored a pull-up jumper in just five seconds. She also turned some heads on Golden State’s bench over the next couple of games, but then lost her place in a rotation that preferred more experienced players.

In 2026, she averaged just 3.1 points and 1.1 assists per game in just over eight minutes per game. Afterward, she told general manager Ohemaa Nyanin that she does not intend to return next season and wants to be traded to another team.

Golden State’s Win-Now Approach Leaves Little Room for Juste Jocytė’s Development

The Valkyries have a clear type of player they have been looking for. Golden State has rarely focused on drafting and developing young players, instead looking to contend immediately, as seen with Lacob’s Warriors in the NBA. Just consider the message team owner Joe Lacob delivered before the Valkyries joined the league. His five-year championship promise leaves little room for patience as Jocyte develops.

Instead, they have brought in players who can contribute immediately, like Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes. That gamble has paid off. The team made the playoffs in its first WNBA season and then won the championship in its second.

However, regardless of the reasoning behind it, Jocyte is unhappy with her lack of playing time. She said in her interview:

“And I don’t even know my position, whether I would like to go back next year, it’s a very ambiguous feeling. I still haven’t fully understood why I didn’t play, and those excuses are ridiculous.”

It’s not that the coaching staff and those in the organization don’t recognize her talent. Williams, after her debut, praised Jocyte’s shot-making, while Nakase joked whether she even knew the plays after scoring so fast. The relationship may not have been strong, but the coach was impressed with her performance.

“JJ did a great job organizing [in Connecticut]. She kept them composed when she wanted to run a set. She pushed it when she wanted to push it…. She was out there calling all the plays. You could tell she knew how to navigate everyone on every play we called. So just really proud of putting people in her spots,” Nakase said after their regular-season game against the Sun in August.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have worked out between the two sides. This chapter of Jocyte’s career, which held so much promise, is likely over. But she’s still an immensely talented guard at just 20 years old and offers huge upside to any team willing to invest in her. The offseason will be interesting to watch.