Flau'jae Johnson Traded To Storm Immediately After Valkyries Pick
Flau’jae Johnson Traded To Storm Immediately After Valkyries Pick & Lil Wayne Proudly Watches - Page 2
2026 WNBA Draft night was already poised to be hectic for 2023 NCAA champ Flau’jae Johnson, but perhaps more than she expected.
Johnson slid to eighth and was picked up by the Golden State Valkyries, one of the newest teams to join the WNBA as the league’s popularity explodes.
Upon gracing the stage, she shared a dope moment with her family when they all rose to clap for her. But it was her little brother, who, after removing his newly obtained Valkyries hat, and saluting her, was invited on stage by his sister as ESPN’s Holly Rowe interviewed her.
But the Bay Area pride would be short-lived, because at the top of the second round, she would get traded to the Seattle Storm for TCU forward Marta Suárez and a 2028 second-rounder. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the trade right after Suárez was selected.
After the trade, Golden State general manager Ohemaa Nyanin was quick to tell ESPN that the decision wasn’t a reflection on Johnson and that the move had been agreed upon before the draft began.
“Seattle and I had an agreement to trade picks prior to any athlete selection,” Nyanin said. “I want to be super clear about the draft: This had nothing to do with Flau’jae or any specific athlete selection.”
Storm general manager Talisa Rhea echoed the same sentiment, and after being surprised that Johnson was still on the board, it was an obvious choice.
“We didn’t think that [Johnson] would be available at that point,” Rhea said. “We had been in conversations, and so, as we got closer to that pick, once it became a reality, just really excited.”
While Johnson’s draft moment may not have gone as planned, one thing that can’t be taken from her is that her song “Woah,” released that day, served as the WNBA’s official draft-day song.
Even Lil Wayne, with whom she collaborated on the 2024 song “Came Out A Beast,” proudly watched her walk across the stage and see her WNBA dreams realized.
“CONGRATULATIONS FLAUJAE!!!!” he wrote. “THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO SEE AND GREATLY DESERVED!! Get em FLO! 4’z up!!!!!”
See reactions to Johnson’s drafting and more WNBA moments from last night below.
