Flau'Jae Johnson sometimes known mononymously as Flau'jae (flaw-JAY; born November 3, 2003) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Early life

Johnson was born on November 3, 2003, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. Her father, Jason Johnson, was a rap musician who performed under the name

Camoflauge Jason Akeil Johnson (December 9, 1981 – May 19, 2003), also known as Camoflauge, was an American rapper, recognized for his songs "Cut Friends" and "Laying My Stunt Down". He released his final album '' Keepin It Real'' in 2002. Camoflauge w ...

. He was shot and killed in May 2003, about six months before her birth, in a case that remains unsolved. Lakia Brooks, Flau'Jae's mother, said that her given name is a tribute to her late father. “ efore he diedwe argued 3 to 4 days about that name. But after he passed away, like a month later, I was like, ‘This is the last big decision that he's going to have to make for her.’” Johnson grew up playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and was the only girl on her team. She played basketball for

Sprayberry High School Sprayberry High School is a public high school located in northeastern Cobb County in Marietta, Georgia, United States, a north-northwestern suburb of metro Atlanta. It is a comprehensive senior high school (grades 9–12) with approximately ...

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. 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 In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

honors at the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

after scoring 27 points, and played in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

. Johnson was also the only girl to play in the Iverson Classic. Her number was

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by Sprayberry, and she became the first girl to receive the honor.

College career

Freshman season

Johnson entered her freshman season as LSU's starting

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

. 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 Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

. As a freshman, Johnson averaged 11 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, helping her team win its first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. She was named the 2022–23

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Year.

Sophomore season

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. Johnson improved her averages in every statistical category except for rebounds, and was a key player for the Tigers throughout the season. LSU finished the SEC regular season with a 13–3 record, and Johnson was named in Second Team All-SEC. 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 OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. In the finals against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, 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. After the game, Johnson apologized to Gamecocks' coach

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers an ...

for her role in the fight. 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 Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

. In the Sweet Sixteen win, 78–69, over the second-seeded

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Johnson recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks and was once again the top scorer for the Tigers and an overall key contributor. In an Elite Eight rematch of the 2023 championship game against the first-seeded

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, Johnson was again the top scorer for the team with 23 points, but LSU lost 87–94.

Junior season

Johnson started all 34 games in her junior season but missed the

2025 SEC women's basketball tournament The 2025 Southeastern Conference women's basketball tournament was a postseason basketball tournament that determined the champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. It was held at t ...

due to shin inflammation. She returned for the NCAA Tournament and was the top scorer with 22 points in the first-round rout of

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

, 103–48. She scored a career-high 28 points, 24 of which came in the second half, in LSU's Elite Eight loss to

, 65–72.

National team career

On June 19, 2025, Johnson was named to team USA's roster for the

2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup The 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup was the 18th edition of the FIBA Women's AmeriCup, which is the main tournament for senior women's basketball national teams of the FIBA Americas. It was held from 28 June to 6 July 2025 in Santiago, Chile. The Un ...

. During the tournament she averaged 4.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game and won a gold medal.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, 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;",

, 36, , 34, , 32.4, , 50.4, , 38.0, , 76.9, , 5.5, , 2.5, , 2.1, , 1.0, , 2.0, , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34, , 34, , 31.6, , 46.8, , 38.3, , 81.0, , 5.6, , 2.5, , 1.7, , 0.9, , 2.7, , 18.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 106, , 104, , 30.5, , 46.8, , 36.5, , 76.3, , 5.7, , 2.3, , 1.7, , 0.9, , 2.3, , 14.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from

Sports-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

Music

Johnson is also a

signed to

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

. 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 ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''.

Albums

Extended plays

Personal life

Johnson is estimated to be one of the highest-earning college basketball players from

name, image, and likeness In college athletics in the United States, a student-athlete who participates in a varsity sport on any and all levels is eligible to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Historically, the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...

(NIL) deals. She signed NIL deals with brands such as Puma,

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing, an American audio engineer and loudspeaker designer. JBL currently serves the ho ...

, and

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

. In December 2024, Johnson became the second college athlete to sign an NIL deal and receive an equity stake in women’s 3-on-3 basketball league

Unrivaled Unrivaled may refer to: * Unrivaled (basketball) Unrivaled is a women's professional three-on-three basketball league in the United States. History The league was founded in 2023 by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, in part to allow WN ...

. Johnson was featured on '' The Money Game: LSU'', a six-part NIL-focused

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

that followed her,

Jayden Daniels Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Daniels is considered a dual-threat player, being adept at both pa ...

Angel Reese Angel Reese (born May 6, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and for Rose BC of the Unrivaled (basketball), Unrivaled basketball league. Nicknamed "Bayo ...

Livvy Dunne Olivia Paige Dunne (born October 1, 2002) is an American influencer and former artistic gymnast. She is also a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and former member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team. In 2017, she was named as a member of t ...

, Alia Armstrong, and Trace Young through LSU's 2023–24 sports season. The series was nominated for Outstanding Documentary Series (Serialized) at the 46th Sports Emmy Awards. In March 2025,

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

announced a second season of their

, ''

Full Court Press A full-court press is a basketball term for a defensive style in which the defense applies pressure to the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass. Pressure may be applied man-to-man, or via a zone press us ...

'' would premiere in May 2025. The series (from

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

Omaha Productions Omaha Productions is an American entertainment company founded by former football quarterback Peyton Manning. It is known for producing '' Manningcast'', an alternate live television broadcast of ESPN's ''Monday Night Football'' hosted by Peyton ...

and Words & Pictures) followed Johnson, Notre Dame's

Hannah Hidalgo Hannah Hidalgo (born February 22, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). She attended Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, where she was named a McDonald ...

, and USC's

Kiki Iriafen Okikiola "Kiki" Iriafen is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the USC Trojans of the Big Ten Conference. She previously pla ...

throughout their 2024–25 NCAA basketball season and postseason.

References

External links

LSU Tigers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Flau'jae 2003 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Savannah, Georgia LSU Tigers women's basketball players Guards (basketball) African-American women rappers African-American rappers Roc Nation artists Rappers from Georgia (U.S. state) McDonald's High School All-Americans America's Got Talent contestants 21st-century American sportswomen United States women's national basketball team players