WNBA fans were stunned after Valkyries trade Flau’jae Johnson after drafting her

Flau’jae Johnson's time with the Golden State Valkyries lasted less than an hour, as Monday night's No. 8 overall pick at the WNBA Draft was traded to the Seattle Storm in a stunner of a deal in the second round. It's quite rare to see players who were just drafted — especially ones of a high caliber like Johnson — be traded on the very same night, but that's exactly what the Valkyries did.

When WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert took the stage to announce the Storm's pick to kick off the second round, instead of a player, she broke the news of the deal between the Storm and Valkyries. MORE WNBA DRAFT: Live updates of every 2026 WNBA pick in all 3 rounds . In the trade, the Storm acquired Johnson's draft rights , while the Valkyries got newly drafted Marta Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick.

The trade was so unexpected that the breaking news elicited a stunned reaction from the crowd in New York for the draft. BIG TRADE 😲 The Seattle Storm have traded the draft rights to Marta Suarez (selected 16th overall) and its own 2028 2nd round pick to Golden State for the draft rights to Flau'jae Johnson (selected 8th overall). pic.

twitter. com/0uJnvqknCA — TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 14, 2026 Yeah, no one was expecting that at all. WNBA fans on social media were equally overwhelmed by the trade, as shocked reactions flooded both Twitter and Bluesky the moment the deal was announced.