After LSU women’s basketball team fell a victory short of reaching the Final Four last season, senior guard Flau’jae Johnson considered entering the 2025 WNBA draft.
It wouldn’t have come as a surprise had she gone to the league. Johnson had achieved a lot in her three years at LSU under head coach Kim Mulkey. The Tigers won a national championship her freshman year, followed by two consecutive trips to the Elite Eight. That might be enough to satisfy some, but not Johnson.
“It just shows that I haven’t done enough to lead my team over that hump. The Elite Eight is not good enough for me,” Johnson, who will lead LSU against Southeast Louisiana on Thursday (8 p.m., SECN+) told USA TODAY Sports. “I want to win. I want to go out how I came in.”
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That insatiable desire to be the best at everything she does — whether it’s laying down lyrics in the studio or knocking down layups on the court — made Johnson’s decision to return to LSU a “no brainer.” She has more to give to the Tigers, and ‘to whom much is given, much is required,’ Johnson said, quoting Luke 12:48.
Mulkey has made one requirement clear. As the longest tenured player on the team, Johnson will be called upon to lead. While Johnson has had some hesitations, Mulkey has full faith in her senior guard.
“She’s really trying to push me to become …. the player that she believes I can become,” said Johnson, one of the 14 women’s college basketball players selected to Unrivaled presented by Samsung Galaxy’s inaugural NIL class. “I feel like she’s challenging me. (Mulkey) has really been pushing me to my limit.”
Flau’jae Johnson’s leadership role
Johnson said she has ‘a great relationship’ with Mulkey, although she admitted her coach is slightly upset with her. Johnson posted a viral video impersonating Mulkey in a blonde wig and signature sequin jacket, which earned her extra sprints and conditioning this offseason, she told USA TODAY Sports.
‘She’s kind of mad at me about the wig (video),’ Johnson said with a laugh. ‘Every time we do conditioning, (Mulkey) says, ‘It’s because Flau’jae (Johnson) was playing in my office.’ … She’s going to make us condition anyway, but now she wants to blame me.’
Mulkey is known for her demanding coaching style that’s resulted in four national championships at Baylor (2005, 2012, 2019) and LSU (2023). Mulkey has pushes her players ‘out of love,’ Johnson said. Mulkey is now urging Johnson to take ownership of the Tigers, as one of four seniors on the team.
“She’s always been reluctant to be a leader of teammates because she wants them to like her,” Mulkey said last month during the SEC basketball media day. ‘She never felt comfortable doing it because she’s always had that great older player in the locker room.”
Johnson played with two outspoken veterans in Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow, but both have graduated and moved onto the WNBA — leaving Johnson to lead whether she’s ready or not.
“This is it. You are that older player. You’re the senior. You’ve been here,’ Mulkey added. ‘You know the ropes. So go lead your basketball team.’
Flau’jae Johnson: ‘I love proving people wrong’
Johnson doesn’t need too much pushing. The multi-hyphenated star said she’s ‘always had this self-motivation’ and aspirations ‘to do great things.’ She knows exactly the kind of leader she wants to be, one that sets the example.
‘I want to lead when things are tough. And so just building my character in those moments,’ Johnson said. ‘I feel like I’ve learned who I was when things didn’t suit me. I don’t want to be that person anymore, so I want to be a better leader. So I think just holding myself accountable because basketball comes with adversity, and once you face it, how are you mature enough to maneuver in that?’
Johnson understands adversity and the fragility of any given moment. Her father Jason Johnson was an up-and-coming rapper who was shot and killed in May 2003 while her mother was pregnant with her. Johnson pursued a rap career to continue her late father’s legacy and landed a distribution deal with RocNation. She is set to release her new EP “One of a Kind” next week.
‘I’m a dog. I love proving people wrong. I love proving myself right,’ Johnson said. ‘Everything that I do. I just want to excel. I feel like there is no tomorrow. Tomorrow’s not promised… That’s kind of how I live every day.’
LSU adds MiLaysia Fulwiley
The Tigers will have a different look this season. Johnson and sophomore guard Mikaylah Williams, who were both named preseason All-SEC, are the lone returning starters. Forward Aneesah Morrow, who led the nation in rebounds and double-doubles last season, played her first season in the WNBA. Six other players transferred.
But the Tigers made several additions including junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, who transferred from South Carolina. Johnson said Fulwiley has brought a level of ‘craftiness’ to the team. LSU also added transfers Kate Koval (Notre Dame) and Amiya Joyner (East Carolina), in addition to five-star freshman recruits Grace Knox, ZaKiyah Johnson and Divine Bourrage.
‘(Fulwiley) brings flare. She brings pace, creativity, quickness, a little bit of everything,’ Johnson said. ‘She’s so free … We’re so structured and then a new person comes and she’s doing it. I’m like, OK, I can vibe with that.
‘She just brings such a different imbalance to the team. That’s good for us though. She’s so young. She’s so fun and eager to learn. She’s just a really good teammate.’
The SEC media picked LSU to finish third in the conference, behind South Carolina and Texas. The Tigers opened the season with a 108-55 win against Houston Christian, with Fulwiley dropping 21 points and Johnson 12. Johnson has averaged double digit points in each of her three seasons at LSU, upping her scoring from 11.0 points as a freshman to 14.9 points as a sophomore and 18.6 last season.
‘I don’t put any pressure on myself and I’m blocking out the outside noise and the expectations that people have on me,’ Johnson said. ‘I know the path that I’m on… And this year is a part of my path. I’m going to make it as great as I can. I’m going to give everything I got.’
Johnson said she likes to stay in the present ‘right where my feet are,’ but just for a second, she allowed herself to dream about ending her collegiate career with another national championship.
‘It would be a storybook ending,’ Johnson said. ‘That’s what I’m trying to get to.’
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