"Kind of a** beyond Paige" - WNBA fans react to Flau'Jae Johnson declining 2025 Draft after Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles, weakening upcoming class

LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson has opted to skip the 2025 WNBA Draft and will return to college for her senior year. Johnson had a solid year in college, making 34 appearances and recording 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. She was expected to be one of the most exciting prospects from this year’s draft class, but the WNBA will have to wait.

Following Flau'Jae Johnson's decision to pull out, the 2025 Draft class looks a little weak in comparison to 2024, which was stacked with names like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and more.

Fans on social media have expressed their concerns about the quality of the draft class:

“Isn’t it kind of a** beyond Paige and the euro big?” One fan said.

“The drop in quality from the 2024 draft to this draft is steep for sure,” Another fan said.

“This draft is a pretty darn big step down from last year,” said another fan.

One fan defended the 2025 class, saying:

“The 24 draft is such a poor metric though. Not only because it's extremely top heavy but also extremely shallow in comparison to this draft. Besides Kate and Nika, the only first year players that stuck around on a roster were 1st rounders. This class isn't top heavy as last year but it's very deep.”

“Paige in a tier by herself, big drop to Malonga as a project with a world of potential, then another huge drop to the Citron/Iriafen tier,” a fan opined

“This draft isn’t setting up to be garbage. Happy for HVL though,” a fan said.

Apart from Flau’Jae Johnson, Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles have also opted out of the draft. Miles would’ve been an excellent pick for any team. She played 34 games for Notre Dame, recording 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Fudd was also expected to be picked high. She averaged 13.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists through 32 games for UConn this year.

Flau'Jae Johnson led the LSU Tigers to the Elite Eight

Flau'Jae Johnson was widely regarded as one of the best guards in college this year. She led the LSU Tigers to the third seed (31-7) and was stellar throughout the NCAA Tournament. She participated in her team’s Elite Eight game against the UCLA Bruins on Mar. 30. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost 72-65 and were eliminated.

Despite the loss, Flau'Jae Johnson was stellar, recording 28 points, four rebounds, and four assists. No one else on the team had more than 15 points. It’ll be interesting to see what she has in store for us during her senior year of college.