SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Golden State Valkyries selected Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė with the fifth pick in the WNBA draft on Monday night, it marked the first draft pick by an expansion team since 2008.
Jocytė also became the 10th international player to be added to the Valkyries' roster -- the most overseas players on a team in the WNBA.
Golden State general manager Ohemaa Nyanin is adamant that the Valkyries didn't set out to rely heavily on international players -- seven of whom were selected in December's expansion draft -- and that it's simply how they've assessed the talent pool.
She also doesn't believe this will set the blueprint for how the next two expansion teams in Toronto and Portland will approach building their franchises.
"It remains to be seen after this first season if what we did in the expansion draft, free agency and collegiate draft is the runway for other expansion teams," Nyanin said Monday night. "We feel very confident that it's our way...So, I'm curious to see how other teams do it.
"I would say that we're not trying to pave the way for other teams to do it."
Jocytė, a 19-year-old 6-foot guard, averaged 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21 games for France's Lyon ASVEL Feminin during the 2024-25 season, playing alongside the No. 2 draft pick Dominique Malonga.
When she was just 14 years old, Jocytė became the youngest athlete to play in EuroLeague. Her playmaking skills and reliable jump shot put her high on the Valkyries' draft board, but her maturity and experience in the pros made her a desirable pick to help build Golden State through its inaugural season.
"We want to be competitive in Year 1. Someone who is going to come in and not be shy about the moment and someone who has seen the bright lights of Europe, I think that is very important," Nyanin said. "The lights at Chase Center are going to be super bright, and in all the other arenas we play in. Being competitive at such a young age and playing with and against other athletes in the WNBA ecosystem, it's amazing."
The Valkyries also selected Shyanne Sellers out of Maryland with the 17th pick and UConn's Kaitlyn Chen with the 30th pick.
Two days prior to the draft, Nyanin said she wasn't necessarily looking for the automatic face of the franchise during the draft process and would rather see that person emerge through training camp.
That is where they hope to build out the rest of their roster, form their true identity and finalize a team that could set the standard for expansion teams moving forward.
"Training camp will help define us," Nyanin said. "The goal for camp is to bring in competitive athletes and make no assumptions that they are going to make our team and have the most competitive training camp to then merit who wears our jersey on May 16."