SAN FRANCISCO – It’s hard to find the right adjective to properly describe how the start of Justė Jocytė’s career with the Golden State Valkyries has gone thus far.
One could say it’s been quiet, as the Lithuanian rookie has caught a string of DNPs and has only played in limited minutes. But it could also be said that it’s been encouraging, as in the minutes Jocytė has seen the floor, she’s shown flashes of the elite shooting, playmaking, and scoring that made her the youngest player to ever debut in the Women’s EuroLeague.
Her 16 minutes in the Indiana Fever game were a prime example of that as she helped the Valkyries flip the game around in the second half.
In that sense, perhaps the word ‘tantalizing’ is apt.
Jocytė has shown just enough for everyone to recognize she can play in the WNBA, yet she can’t get the minutes to showcase that potential. And with the tantalizing adjective comes words like frustration and puzzling, at least for Valkyries fans, as the base seems bewildered as to why the fifth overall pick in the 2025 draft isn’t getting playing time.
Which begs the question: what is the Valkyries’ plan for Jocytė?
As of late, the plan seems to be to develop Jocytė as a point guard, according to coach Natalie Nakase.
Natalie Nakase’s vision for Justė Jocytė
Before Golden State’s game with the Phoenix Mercury last week, but after Jocytė got a DNP-CD against the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase was asked how she sees the 20-year-old developing and what her role will be on the Valkyries, to which the second-year coach said they are pushing her toward being a lead ball-handler.
“She’s still adapting. Kind of really going to groom her a little bit into playing more of a ball handler for us,” Nakase said, explaining how she plans on testing and challenging Jocytė’s skills with the idea she’ll develop into a lead guard.
“This is my first year coaching her. So I want to give her a little bit of space. The first thing for sure was not to overload her, and so now I get to get her a little bit uncomfortable. She’s handling it really well.”
It was a significant quote from Nakase, after weeks of answering around questions about her and the team’s vision for Jocytė, because of the clarity with which the Valkyries’ coach spoke. They want to use her similarly to Veronica Burton and Kaitlyn Chen, as a floor general who can use her IQ and playmaking to direct the offense. A plan that makes sense and gives a direction for Jocytė’s development.
But it’s also a plan that Nakase believes is going to take some time, which she expressed before the Valkyries road game with the Seattle Storm, after yet another Jocytė DNP-CD.
“I don’t think you can evolve a point guard overnight,” Nakase said of Jocytė’s development. “I have to continue to press her buttons and challenge her, but I also have to see it come to fruition in stay-ready games. It’s going to take some time. But it’s really good to have point guards like Veronica [Burton] and Kaitlyn [Chen] [around her], who have taken a full year too under my belt.”
How Justė Jocytė is handling her circumstances right now
For Jocytė, a player who’s spent most of her young career at the shooting guard position, it’s not the cleanest transition, even though she has the skillset to do so.
“Being a point guard is not my natural position,” Jocytė told ClutchPoints. “But I guess I just have to adapt [to] what is best for the team, and you know it’s been going good. It’s been quite new that I’ve been pushed to that direction and to that position. So far it’s good.”
Jocytė emphasized how working with Burton and Chen is helping her understand the responsibilities of the position and how they see the floor. But as for what Nakase has asked of her, in terms of wanting to be a lead ball-handler, is for Jocytė to use her voice, which is something new for her.
“The number one [thing] is just being vocal for her,” Jocytė said. “It’s really important for the point guard to really talk to everybody and do it very loudly. For me, that’s not really natural to like scream on top of my lungs, but you know, that’s what I’ve been practicing. Basically just to talk loudly to organize the team.”
Being vocal is something akin to a non-negotiable for Nakase when it comes to her point guards. And it’s a skill she coaxed out of Burton and Chen over the course of last season, to positive results, hence why Nakase is so adamant about Jocytė doing the same.
So, between Jocytė transitioning to a position she’s not comfortable with and learning skills not exactly natural to her, the plan for her getting minutes hinges on Nakase, in her words, “seeing it come to fruition.” And what that looks like, and how Nakase judges, seems to lie more in practice than in-game, as Jocytė continues to pile DNP-CD after DNP-CD.
As for how Jocytė is handling her situation, she’s taking it one step at a time.
“I’m just staying patient, to be honest,” Jocytė said. “I’m just doing my job, staying patient, and all the rest is not on me.”
The post How Valkyries’ Justė Jocytė is navigating Natalie Nakase’s rookie development plan appeared first on ClutchPoints.
