| Flau'Jae Johnson | |
| Number: | 4 |
| Position: | Guard |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 10 |
| League: | Southeastern Conference |
| Team: | LSU Tigers |
| Birth Date: | 3 November 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| High School: | Sprayberry (Marietta, Georgia) |
| College: | LSU (2022–present) |
| Highlights: |
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Flau'Jae Johnson (born November 3, 2003) is an American rapper and college basketball player for the LSU Tigers.
Johnson was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia.[1] Her father, the rapper Camoflauge, was shot and killed in May 2003 about six months before her birth in a case that remains unsolved.[2] Johnson grew up playing baseball as a pitcher and was the only girl on her team.[3]
She played basketball for Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia.[4] As a senior, Johnson was named Region 6-6A Player of the Year, and she left as her school's all-time leading scorer. She earned most valuable player honors at the Jordan Brand Classic after scoring 27 points, and played in the McDonald's All-American Game.[5] Johnson was also the only girl to play in the Iverson Classic.[6] Her number was retired by Sprayberry, and she became the first girl to receive the honor.[3]
Johnson entered her freshman season as LSU's starting shooting guard.[7] On November 20, 2022, she recorded a season-high 27 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five assists in a 100–45 win over Northwestern State.[8] As a freshman, Johnson averaged 11 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, helping her team win its first national championship.[9] She was named the 2022–23 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year.[10]
In her sophomore season, Johnson played in 36 games and started 34 of them. Due to illness, she missed one game and played off the bench in another two in November.[11] Johnson improved her averages in every statistical category except for rebounds, and was a key player for the Tigers throughout the season.[12] LSU finished the SEC regular season with a 13–3 record, and Johnson was named in Second Team All-SEC.[13] In the SEC Tournament, Johnson led the team in scoring in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, scoring 25 points against Auburn and then 21 points against Ole Miss.[14] [15] In the finals against South Carolina, Johnson was involved in a tussle that resulted in the ejection of six players (Johnson was not among those ejected) and the arrest of her brother.[16] After the game, Johnson apologized to Gamecocks' coach Dawn Staley for her role in the fight.[17] LSU entered the NCAA Tournament as the third seed. Johnson was the top scorer for LSU in their second-round win, 83–56, over Middle Tennessee.[18] [19] In the Sweet Sixteen win, 78–69, over the second-seeded UCLA, Johnson recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks and was once again the top scorer for the Tigers and an overall key contributor.[20] [21] In an Elite Eight rematch of the 2023 championship game against the first-seeded Iowa, Johnson was again the top scorer for the team with 23 points, but LSU lost 87–94.[22]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| LSU| 36||36||27.6||42.4||33.0||69.6||5.9||1.9||1.2||0.8||2.3||11.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| style="text-align:left;"| LSU| 36||34||32.4||50.4||38.0||76.9||5.5||2.5||2.1||1.0||2.0||14.9|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career|72||70||30.0||46.7||35.4||73.6||5.7||2.2||1.6||0.9||2.2||13.0|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[23]
Johnson is also a rapper signed to Roc Nation.[24] [2] She was inspired to pursue a rap career to continue her father's legacy. Johnson has appeared on The Rap Game and America's Got Talent.
Johnson is estimated to be one of the highest-earning college basketball players from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals.[25] She signed NIL deals with brands such as Puma, Meta, JBL, and Taco Bell.[26] Johnson was featured on , a six-part NIL-focused docuseries by Prime Video that followed her, Jayden Daniels, Angel Reese, Livvy Dunne, and Alia Armstrong through LSU's 2023–24 sports season.[27] [28]