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Terrance Williams/Associated Press
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The first Golden State Valkyries draft pick was perhaps a surprise on mock draft boards, but not in the philosophy they have already shown.
The Valkyries selected 19-year-old Lithuanian guard Juste Jocyte with the No. 5 overall pick in Monday’s WNBA draft, the latest addition to the expansion club.
Second-round pick Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers (17th overall) is likely more familiar to American basketball fans and is someone who could get playing time this season. So, too, might third-round pick Kaitlyn Chen, who won a national championship with UConn last week.
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The selection of Jocyte continued the Valkyries’ pattern of being willing to take on young international players who don’t go straight to the WNBA. The team chose No. 9 overall pick Carla Leite and Maria Conde in the expansion draft and Iliana Rupert remains unsigned.
The 6-foot Jocyte might not be WNBA ready right away, but she averaged 12.1 points and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 36.5% from distance for Lyon ASVEL of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball. She has been playing professionally in Europe since she was 14. She guarded Indiana Fever star DeWanna Bonner in Russia in 2019 at 14 while scoring against stout WNBA defenders like Brionna Jones.
It seems unlikely Jocyte will make an appearance in the Bay Area anytime soon with the EuroBasket scheduled for June. On the FIBA website, Jocyte said she would prioritize playing for her national team earlier this month. “The national team is always my priority,” she said. “If the WNBA told me I couldn’t leave and had to choose, I’d undoubtedly pick the national team.”
The WNBA regular season begins May 16.
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Jocyte played a key role in helping Lithuania qualify for the EuroBasket final this summer, averaging 17 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the four preliminary games. In the clinching qualifying game on Feb. 6 against Poland, she had 14 points, four rebounds and five assists, helping Lituania earn its first finals appearance since 2015.
“It’s an honor to play for the national team,” she added. “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.”
Jocyte was born in Washington, D.C., which put her draft status in question before this year. Domestic players are eligible to be drafted at age 21, but since Joycte grew up in Lithuania and has played overseas her entire life, she became eligible for 2025.
Sellers, meanwhile, was one of the best available true point guards on the board after Olivia Miles didn’t declare and could add stability for a franchise that needs reliable pieces as it finalizes its inaugural roster.
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At 6-2, she’s a solid defender, shot 40.8% from 3-point range last season and averaged 4.1 assists per game for the Sweet 16 Terps. Behind Julie Vanloo and Carla Leite in her first year in the WNBA, Sellers might be a developmental project worth taking on.
Sellers averaged 14.4 points with 3.8 rebounds per game, a slight step down from her 2023-24 season, but her field goal percentage of 46.2% jumped in her senior season, as did a career-high 40.8% from 3.
“It’s special to be here and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” she said on the ESPN broadcast. “Just being me, soaking it up. I’m excited to play with (former Maryland teammate) Chloe Bibby. It’s super amazing.”
The 5-foot-9 Chen won the national championship with UConn after spending three seasons at Princeton. She had 115 assists for the Huskies this season while averaging 6.9 points per game and shooting 51.4% from the field. A San Marino (Los Angeles County) native, Chen is a distributor who can consistently score from the mid-range.
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Earlier, Dallas selected UConn point guard Paige Bueckers No. 1. She was followed by French center Dominique Malonga to Seattle, Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron and USC’s Kiki Iriafen (a fomer Stanford standout) to Washington.
Reach Marisa Ingemi (she/her): [email protected]; Bluesky: @mingemi.bsky.social
