Last October, the WNBA announced that the Golden State Valkyries, the league’s newest franchise, would make their first-ever draft selection with the No. 5 overall pick.
Despite landing just outside of the lottery, the Valkyries still had a chance to take a prospect that would have a considerable impact for an expansion team seeking to create an identity and a path through eventual growing pains as the new kids on the block.
In a draft where surefire talent was ripe for the taking in its inaugural season, Golden State did the exact opposite when drafting 19-year-old Lithuanian star Justė Jocytė. The 6-foot-2 guard will miss the season in anticipation of the FIBA Women’s Eurobasket 2025.
The biennial competition is a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women’s World Cup and the Olympics.
Since 2019, Jocytė has played professionally in Europe for Lyon ASVEL, a French basketball team in the La Boulangere Wonderligue. At 14 years old, she became the youngest player to enter the Women's EuroLeague. She has also represented Lithuania on the international circuit since she was 13, playing for the Under-16 and Under-18 teams.
Qualifying for the summer tournament for the first time since 2015, Lithuania will begin its campaign in Bologna, Italy. As the future of women’s basketball in her country, Jocytė is honored, yet understands that the moment is of the essence because these moments are fleeting. She made her intentions known last month in a post-draft interview with BasketNews.
"The national team is always my priority," said Jocytė. “If the WNBA told me I couldn't leave and had to choose, I'd undoubtedly pick the national team."
"It's an honor to play for the national team," she continued. "We haven't been at the Women's EuroBasket for so long. If we were a country like France or Spain, always qualifying, maybe then I could think about skipping it. But when such a chance comes, and knowing how hard it is for us to qualify, it isn't even a question what to choose."
For American-born players who grew up in the USA basketball pipeline, this honor is routinely taken for granted because there hasn’t been a true challenge to the crown since 1992. For some international stars like Jocytė, the opportunity to play for their home country on the world stage is an opportunity that doesn't come often.
Jocytė’s sentiments towards international play are significant because Lithuania will co-host the Women’s Eurobasket 2027 - another possible season missed stateside for the Valkyries. As far as the WNBA’s prioritization rule, it doesn’t apply to Joycte because she lacks at least two years in the league. It will be, however, in 2027 when the next tournament begins.
The purpose of the top pick was to help steady the ship ahead of choppy waters. Jocytė may very well be a great player in the league, but historically speaking, expansion teams normally sink to the bottom of the standings for the first few seasons. For Golden State, not having the guaranteed availability of their first pick in franchise history for the foreseeable future is counterproductive at best.
Drafting and stashing prospects is nothing new in the W, but it is rare for expansion teams as of late. Before the Valkyries, the last expansion team added was the Atlanta Dream in 2008. During free agency, they traded the fourth pick and Roneeka Hodges to the Seattle Storm for the No. 8 pick and Brazilian gaurd Izi Castro Marques. The pick was then used to draft James Madison guard Tamera Young.
In 2006, the Chicago Sky selected Temple star Candice Dupree sixth overall with its first-ever draft pick. She was an All-Star in three of her first four seasons in the league, but in 2010, Dupree requested a trade and landed with the Phoenix Mercury. She would go on to help win a championship in 2014.
As it stands, the Valkyries will be the first expansion team since 2000 that doesn’t have a first-round pick touch the court.
In 2000, the Indiana Fever sent their No. 10 pick to the Miami Sol where they also netted current New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. The Fever recieved Stephanie White, the current coach of the team.
Previously slated to pick at No. 8, the Miami Sol traded it to the Utah Starzz. Miami did eventually regain a first-rounder, but traded it away again in a deal with the Minnesota Lynx for Marlies Askamp. She started 32 games in her first season with Miami, but wasn’t a major factor.
The other two expansion teams were the Seattle Storm and Portland Fire.
With the No. 9 pick, Seattle drafted Czech forward Kamila Vodichkova, who helped win the franchise’s first championship in 2004. Portland took Kansas guard Lynn Pride with the No. 7 pick. She played for the Fire for one season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.3 assists.
The Storm drafted future franchise legends Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird in consecutive years and won their first of two championships in the team’s fifth season.
The Dream selected Louisville standout Angel McCoughtry with the first overall pick the year after being added to the league. With the additions of All-Star and perennial MVP candidate Chamique Holdsclaw and Sancho Lyttle through the dispersal draft, Atlanta made the Eastern Conference Semifinals in its second year of existence.
It’s too soon to say what trajectory the Valkyries are on, but if history does repeat itself, the following decisions don’t bode well in the grand scheme of things.