Hours before Justė Jocytė’s second WNBA game, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase admitted she wasn’t sure if the 6-foot-2 Lithuanian rookie knew Golden State’s playbook.

With Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in town May 28, it seemed unlikely Nakase would rely on Jocytė, 20, to play meaningful minutes. But over the final quarter and a half, Jocytė hardly came off the floor as Golden State secured a thrilling 90-88 win.

Valkyries star Gabby Williams said the game was “just a glimpse of what [Jocytė] is capable of.” The two previously played together on a loaded ASVEL Lyon team in France when Jocytė was just 16.

So far, the Fever game is the only real glimpse Golden State fans have seen.

In 10 games since that win, Jocytė has appeared in just five. She has eclipsed 10 minutes once — an eight-point effort in 13 minutes against the Fire — and was limited to garbage time appearances in a win against the Sparks and a loss to the Aces.

Jocytė’s string of DNPs has become one of the Valkyries’ most perplexing developments in Year 2. The franchise waited a year for its top 2025 draft pick to arrive in the U.S. but has yet to make her a meaningful part of a rotation that’s struggling to create open looks against more talented opponents.

What have Nakase and the Valkyries said about using Jocytė? And what do these statements indicate about her role? Here’s what we know.

Two days after Jocytė was a healthy scratch against Las Vegas on June 6, Nakase said the decision was “matchup-based.” The second-year head coach said she’d been pleased with the attack, spacing, and rebounding from lineups against the Aces but was still waiting to see “maximum effort” from Jocytė in scrimmages among nonstarters. 

Nakase pointed to the steep learning curve of joining a new team and league: “Everyone is still learning exactly what we want. … I don’t want to throw a player in there if they don’t know exactly what we are looking for, because then I’m not setting them up for success.”

Before the Valkyries played the Mercury, Nakase said the coaching staff wanted to utilize Jocytė as a primary ball handler, a role she’d never undertaken in six years of pro basketball in Europe. 

“I’m going to try to see how comfortable she is and how uncomfortable she is with everything, so that’s going to be more conversations with our playbook and what she sees,” Nakase said. “As that evolves, I get to test her decision making.”

When asked about Jocytė’s progression as a ball handler ahead of facing the Storm, Nakase said, “Honestly, I am just viewing and watching her digest this. I don’t think you can evolve a point guard overnight. … It’s more about her being a vocal leader, right? That doesn’t happen overnight, it’s not really who she is, so I have to continue to press her buttons, challenge her, but also have to see it come to fruition in the ‘stay ready’ games. I think it’s going to take some time.” 

Nakase added that Jocytė’s game is unlike those of Veronica Burton and Kaitlyn Chen, the Valkyries’ primary point guards.

Ahead of a blowout loss to the Aces, Nakase indicated that the transition from playing in Europe to the U.S. has been challenging for Jocytė.

“We’re still trying to get her to maximize her effort too. What does that look like for us, for Golden State?” Nakase said.

The coach suggested her staff would like to see Jocytė adjust to the physicality of the WNBA — one of the biggest transitions for Europeans coming to the U.S. — and to the league’s pace of play. “Not everyone has the same timeline, and I love that Juste has been very patient, but she’s learning so much in terms of the point guard position.”

Every Golden State move, at least until recently, has suggested that Jocytė is expected to be a core part of the team. The Valkyries used a top draft pick on Jocytė, protected her in the offseason expansion draft, and kept her on a 12-player roster despite the fact that she missed all of training camp while competing in Europe.

So why are the Valkyries looking to turn Jocytė into a ball handler? And was this the development path Nakase and GM Ohemaa Nyanin envisioned when Jocytė was drafted? No one has directly answered those questions as decision-makers have instead highlighted her ability to grow. 

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The Valkyries consistently point to Jocytė’s high basketball IQ as a defining trait, and it’s possible that providing her with more on-ball responsibilities could unlock more of her potential if she’s able to use her vision and passing prowess to facilitate Golden State’s offense.

It’s also possible the coaching staff doesn’t feel rushed to find a role for Jocytė. She’s the youngest player on the team, Burton and Chen are more experienced point guards, and veteran Tiffany Hayes has provided solid minutes off the bench as an off-ball guard.

The most realistic explanation for Jocytė’s inconsistent playing time might be that the coaching staff doesn’t have the same level of trust in her as it does with players who have been around longer. Many of Nakase’s comments — learning the playbook, understanding what the staff wants, maximizing effort, adjusting to the league’s physicality, becoming more vocal, proving herself in scrimmages — suggest Golden State isn’t quite ready to rely on Jocytė ahead of more proven teammates.

As Jocytė adjusts to a new league, team, and role, it’s easy to forget that despite her extensive European experience, she’s still younger than most WNBA rookies — and that development might be a multiyear, not a multiweek, process.