It was a historic year for the WNBA in 2024 with viewership skyrocketing, the emergence of new stars like Caitlin Clark leading to greater attendance and merchandise purchases and social media engagement flourishing.
There’s no doubt the addition of new stars in the league like Clark, Angel Reese and others, combined with perennial All-Stars like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, strengthened women’s basketball.
But for one WNBA prospect, the popularity of the game this year is just “the tip of the iceberg.”
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Flau’jae Johnson of the LSU Tigers before a game against the Northwestern State Demons at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Nov. 9, 2024, in Baton Rouge. (Kristen Young/LSU/Getty Images)
“Now that the WNBA has finally gotten its spark and this is the first year that it really popped off, it’s only going to get bigger from here,” LSU star Flau’jae Johnson told Fox News Digital while discussing her NIL partnership with the Unrivaled basketball league co-founded by Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
“There’s going to be more stars, more storylines, more basketball players, more teams. That’s the most exciting part is that the league is still growing. It hasn’t even hit that peak yet.”
Johnson is rare when it comes to college athletes in today’s NIL space. She prides herself on being one of the most marketable players with her budding rap career along with her social media influence.
But make no mistake, this is a woman who wakes up at 5 a.m. to get shots up to start her day. And she knows that two years from now, when she’s eligible for the WNBA Draft, she will be there waiting to join the pros.
And when she does, Johnson wants to be making history.
“It’s so much that’s going to come with this. There’s going to be first-time, million-dollar contracts. There’s going to be first-time this and first-time that. There’s going to be so much more history broken,” she said excitedly.
Johnson believes the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship was a turning point for the sport. It was a game in which she helped the Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.
Johnson is the latest example of stars being born before they even reach the pros.
Angel Reese, right, and Flau’jae Johnson of the LSU Lady Tigers react after a 79-72 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies during a 2023 NCAA Tournament Final Four game at American Airlines Center March 31, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
“I think college basketball really took it through the roof if you ask me. If it wasn’t for the surge that year that we won the national championship, it wouldn’t be a thing. It would be a thing, but it wouldn’t be as big as it was now,” Johnson said.
“That came from college, and it led to the pros with Caitlin and Angel going to the league. And it’s only going to keep doing that.”
Along with Johnson, take UConn’s Paige Bueckers. She also has an NIL partnership with Unrivaled, and some believe she can have the same effect as Clark on the WNBA. She will likely go No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 Draft.
And while they may be considered the “next generation,” they’re already having an impact on those coming after them.
“It kind of hit me yesterday,” Johnson said after her latest game. “One of my fans tagged me in a TikTok, and a girl had a big [number] four iced-out chain, and she came to our game for her birthday. I’m like, ‘That’s the most important day in your life. Your birthday.’
“We played a terrible team, blew them out by 100 points. She was so happy, and we were able to interact and all of that. But that just goes to show, like, she took her time to do that. My presence was valuable enough to her. So, I feel like I have to do more in that space.”
Johnson has dipped her toes in just about every space she can, which requires a strong work ethic to make sure she can help lead the Tigers to another national championship.
LSU Tigers women’s basketball player Flau’jae Johnson speaks during “The Money Game” world premiere at Pete Maravich Assembly Center Sept. 4, 2024, in Baton Rouge. (LSU Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)
But to say the future is bright for women’s basketball would be an understatement. Johnson said there is finally respect for how great these women can be on the hardwood.
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“It’s always been there,” Johnson said of stars in the WNBA. “Stewie’s always been. Sue Bird’s always been there. It’s like the time is now, and once the time is now, you put all the resources, you put all the investments in it to make it bigger and better for the next generation. All the girls are going to do is get better. They’re going to be more confident watching all the girls in front of them.”
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