LSU star Flau'Jae Johnson picked by Golden State Valkyries in 2026 WNBA Draft

Q: Who is Flau'Jae Johnson and what are her achievements?

Flau'Jae Johnson is a prominent basketball player from LSU known for her decorated college career, which includes numerous accolades and contributions to her team's success.

Q: Which team selected Flau'Jae Johnson in the 2026 WNBA Draft?

Flau'Jae Johnson was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2026 WNBA Draft.

Q: What did Flau'Jae Johnson say about her selection in the WNBA Draft?

Flau'Jae Johnson expressed her excitement about knowing her future team and starting a new journey in professional basketball.

Q: What does Flau'Jae Johnson's selection mean for her career?

Her selection by the Golden State Valkyries marks the beginning of her professional basketball career, offering her new opportunities and challenges in the WNBA.

LSU star Flau'Jae Johnson picked by Golden State Valkyries in 2026 WNBA Draft

By the time her decorated career at LSU ended, Flau’Jae Johnson was ready to start the next chapter of her life in basketball.

“I'm very excited just to be able to know where I’m going to live. You know what I'm saying? Who are my teammates? I'm excited,” Johnson said Saturday in New York City. “This is a new journey. Now you're coming into the league where there's so much growth visibility.”

Now, Johnson knows her path forward. She'll still be wearing purple, just a different shade.

The Golden State Valkyries selected Johnson with the eighth overall pick in Monday night’s WNBA Draft.

Johnson's jaw dropped when she heard WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert say her name. She collected herself, exchanged hugs and kisses with her mom, brother and LSU coach Kim Mulkey, then marched to the stage.

Johnson joins a team coached by Natalie Nakase that was an expansion team a year ago and made the playoffs in its inaugural season. Golden State just signed 2025 All-Star Gabby Williams and brings back guards Veronica Burton and Kate Martin.

Following Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow, Johnson becomes the third consecutive LSU player to be selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft. Overall, she’s the sixth Tiger coached by Kim Mulkey to be drafted. Dating back to her days at Baylor, Mulkey has now coached 28 WNBA Draft picks, with 12 going in the first round.

Michigan State's Rashunda Jones (1) walks off the court following a second-round game in the NCAA women's basketball tournament between the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday March 22, 2026.

Denae Fritz #5 of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts after a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Forward Hannah Stuelke #45 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts after a double overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa.

Forward Hannah Stuelke #45 of the Iowa Hawkeyes hugs her mother after the double overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa.

Chance Gray #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Kennedy Cambridge #3 sit on the bench as time runs down in the fourth quarter of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Second Round game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jerome Schottenstein Center on March 23, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame defeated Ohio Sate 83-73.

Head coach Krista Gerlich of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Snudda Collins #0 of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders reacts during the second half of a game against the LSU Tigers in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Kamy Peppler #1 of the Green Bay Phoenix reacts against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the third quarter during the First Round of the Women's NCAA Tournament at Williams Arena on March 20, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Phoenix 75-58.

Audi Crooks #55 of the Iowa State Cyclones reacts during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament against the Syracuse Orange at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on March 21, 2026 in Storrs, Connecticut.

The Vermont women's basketball team starters consoled each other as the Caramounts lost to Louisville at the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness basketball tournament at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2026.

Rhode Island Rams head coach Tammi Reiss gives a hug to Rhode Island Rams guard Sophia Vital (15) in the waning moments of the Rams' loss to Alabama in the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness basketball tournament at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2026.

Comari Mitchell #5 of the Jacksonville Dolphins reacts during the second half of the game against the LSU Tigers in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 20, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Bailey Burns #11 of the Jacksonville Dolphins exits the court after the game against the LSU Tigers in first round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 20, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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Audi Crooks enters transfer portal after 3 seasons at Iowa State

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

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March Sadness hits hard in the Women's NCAA basketball tournament

The four-time national championship-winning coach has long believed that Johnson would be a WNBA-caliber player.

“Her all-around game has just elevated. She’s a pro. You haven't seen the best of her yet,” Mulkey said during the NCAA Tournament. “I just think she's so unselfish with her passing. She sees things two and three steps ahead of most people and she can just flick a wrist and throw it.”

A college basketball star who has another career as a hip-hop recording artist, Johnson was the first McDonald’s All-American that Mulkey signed at LSU when she took the reins of the Tigers in 2021. A native of Savannah, Georgia, Johnson was a four-star recruit and tabbed as the 26th best player in the 2022 class by ESPN. Her late father James was also a rapper who performed under the moniker “Camoflauge.”

Johnson has been a starter for all but two of the 141 games she played in over four years at LSU, including the 2023 national title game in Dallas, Texas, where the Tigers defeated Caitlin Clark’s Iowa for their first championship in program history. Johnson earned SEC Rookie of the Year honors that season.

After Reese left for the WNBA, Johnson became the face of the program. Following the national title, she led LSU to a pair of Elite Eight appearances and a Sweet 16 trip this past season. Johnson was a three-time All-SEC selection, a two-time All-American and a two-time All-Region selection in the NCAA Tournament. She also featured on Team USA last summer on the squad that won the gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup.

While LSU fell short of achieving its biggest goals this past season, Johnson averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting a career-best 39.3% from beyond the arc. For her career, she shot 47% from the floor and 75% from the free throw line.

“Flau'jae is going to be a really, really good pro, and I think the pros are going to help Flau'jae and maybe some of the disconnected play that we saw at LSU this year,” ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco said last week. “Maybe some of that just gets cleaned up playing with a little bit more cohesion at the pro level, and a player like Flau'jae might benefit from that.”

A 6-foot guard, Golden State is getting an excellent spot-up shooter, a defensive stopper on the perimeter and an elite all-around athlete.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU star Flau'Jae Johnson picked by Golden State Valkyries in 2026 WNBA Draft