Flau'jae Johnson converts flashy finish over two Kentucky defenders

Flau’Jae Johnson isn’t messing around this Sunday. In the first quarter of LSU’s matchup against Kentucky, Johnson took a steal coast-to-coast for a flashy reverse finish over Kentucky’s Eniya Russell and Maddie Scherr.

Kentucky was left with no choice but to call a timeout after the play as LSU’s crowd rained down cheers on the sophomore standout. At the end of the first quarter, LSU leads Kentuck 20-9. Johnson scored four points in the first frame.

Highlight plays are nothing new for Flau’Jae Johnson. The 5-foot-10 guard is averaging 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season while shooting 48.5% from the field. Last week, Johnson spoke out on the differences between the WNBA and NCAA women’s basketball.

The fans show out? @Flaujae's gonna ball.

📺SEC Network | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/JWwQnm28a5

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 3, 2024

Flau’jae Johnson on the WNBA

“You go to college, and you’re treated like a pro,” she told FOX News. “Then, you go to the pros and you’re treated not like a professional. In that way, I say the league can be better. I know everybody will say revenue, but it’s going to take time for the game to get to where it’s supposed to get. 

“I think just the conditions for the players — living arrangements, travel arrangements — that’s very important to the athlete. I was fortunate enough to be in college for the NIL era, so I’ll be more than fine going to the league. But, yeah, that’s very important.”

The average salary in the WNBA is around $147,000. As such, even the league’s biggest stars sometimes play overseas during the offseason to earn extra money. 

Compare that to Johnson’s On3 NIL valuation of $1.1 million, and it’s easy to see exactly what she means. That number ranks her second among all women’s college basketball players behind teammate Angel Reese ($1.7 million). Iowa star Caitlin Clark is third with a valuation of $910,000. 

Looking at the difference between those numbers and WNBA salaries, it’s not hard to imagine why some players might opt to stay in college as long as they can. 

The WNBA has changed its charter flight policy heading into next season, allowing private flights for playoff games, back-to-backs and certain regular season games. WNBA teams also have the ability to book flights on JSX, which is in a sense a chartered flight as teams can purchase the entire flight for themselves on an already-scheduled route.

Johnson won’t have to worry about entering the WNBA for at least another two years, as she just turned 20 in November. Players who wish to enter the draft must be at least 22 years old at the time of the draft.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.