2026 WNBA Draft winners and losers: Flau'jae Johnson trade makes no sense, and the Valkyries can't explain it

Golden State stunned the draft by selecting LSU star Flau'jae Johnson at No. 8, then abruptly flipping her to Seattle

Jack Maloney

Apr 13, 2026

11:54 pm ET

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8 min read

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The 2026 WNBA Draft started in almost an identical fashion to the 2025 edition: the Dallas Wings selected a guard from UConn with the No. 1 overall pick. This year, the Wings selected Azzi Fudd, who will reunite with her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The duo won a national championship together at UConn and will now try to bring that same level of success to Dallas.

The Lynx then took TCU guard Olivia Miles at No. 2, the Storm added Spanish center Awa Fam at No. 3 and the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky rounded out the lottery by taking UCLA stars Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

As always, the draft went much better for some teams and players than it did for others. We graded each first-round pick here.

Ahead of training camps, which will open in less than a week on April 19, here are the winners and losers from the 2026 WNBA Draft:

Winner: Storm's rebuild off to a great start

The Storm lost Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams, Brittney Sykes and Erica Wheeler in free agency, which forced the franchise into a rebuild. That process is already off to an incredible start.

Early on Monday, they caught a major break when the Wings and Lynx both passed on Awa Fam, allowing the Storm to select her at No. 3. Fam, a 19-year-old center from Spain, was a candidate to be the top pick and has the most upside of any player in this class. She is an excellent athlete, a strong interior finisher and a gifted passer who's significantly younger than any of the other lottery picks. Plus, she's a perfect fit next to Dominique Malonga and Ezi Magbegor, who can handle rim protection duties on defense and allow Fam to come along slowly.

WNBA Draft 2026: Who is Awa Fam? Seattle Storm choose Spanish star with No. 3 pick

Jack Maloney

Later in the evening, the Storm fleeced the Valkyries by trading Marta Suarez (the No. 16 pick) and a 2028 second-round pick for LSU star Flau'jae Johnson (No. 8). While Johnson had an underwhelming senior season in Baton Rouge, she's one of the most athletic and naturally gifted players in this class with serious potential as a two-way wing.

Fam and Johnson were such an exciting haul that the Storm's confusing decision to select Duke's Taina Mair at No. 14 doesn't even matter. At this point, whatever they get from Mair -- an intriguing prospect, but a reach in the first round -- is a bonus.

Here's a look at the young talent in Seattle now:

- Fam (19)

- Malonga (20)

- Johnson (22)

- Mair (22)

- Jade Melbourne (23)

- Jordan Horston (24)

- Magbegor (26)

Some franchises can rebuild for years without ever getting a player as talented as Malonga or Fam. The Storm have both, and are in a great position moving forward, especially if they can get one more lottery selection in 2027, which is a loaded class.

Loser: Valkyries trade Johnson in baffling decision

What were the Valkyries doing by trading Johnson -- a real talent, who seemed like she would be a good fit in the Bay Area, both on and off the court -- for two second-round picks? It's a secret, according to general manager Ohemaa Nyanin.

"When I'm ready to speak more about what the strategy is behind it, I'll speak on it," Nyanin said during a post-draft press conference. "I don't really speak about my strategy publicly because other teams are watching.

"I'm going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response," Nyanin continued. "I don't have a lot of detail to share. One, because I'm exhausted. Two, because I want to be very thoughtful when I'm talking about other humans and their basketball abilities and how they would or would not show up for our squad."

If the Valkyries weren't completely sold on Johnson, who can be frustratingly inconsistent, that's fair. But then why draft her in the first place? And if they selected her with designs on trading her to a team that really wanted her, why couldn't they extract a better return than Suarez and another second-round pick?

Suarez is a fun player, and her ability to shoot and make decisions with the ball should theoretically make her a fit in Golden State. But there are some real questions about whether or not she can hold up athletically in the pros, however, and the Storm's 2028 second-round pick is going to be in the late teens at best.

The trade is even more baffling considering the Valkyries' stellar track record since they entered the league as an expansion franchise last season.

Winner: UCLA makes history

Fresh off a national championship, the UCLA Bruins made WNBA Draft history with six players selected on Monday night, the most ever from a single program in one draft. Five