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5 min read<\/p>\n5 min read<\/p>\n
Flau\u2019jae Johnson is a reformed \u201croll out of bed and go\u201d type of girl. She admits that her old morning routine\u2014one that carried her from scrimmaging boys on hometown Georgia courts to becoming a basketball prodigy with WNBA dreams\u2014worked for a long time. But the days of waking up at 5 a.m. and barely sleeping no longer serve her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was killing myself,\u201d she laughs, dressed head to toe in a white suit with golden beads running the length of her legs, surrounded by giant gift-wrapped boxes featuring her face for DICK\u2019S Sporting Goods\u2019 Holiday Wrapper campaign.<\/p>\n
The shoot, just a few miles from LSU\u2019s practice courts in Baton Rouge, feels like a full-circle moment for the 22-year-old senior. She\u2019d just come from practice\u2014late, thanks to mandatory team bonding\u2014but on set, she seamlessly switches gears from athlete to star. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s that balance of hustle and joy that defines Flau\u2019jae right now. As an NCAA champion, rapper signed to Roc Nation, and WNBA hopeful, she\u2019s rewriting what it looks like to move boldly across sport, music, and style.<\/p>\n
And this holiday season, she\u2019s showing off yet another side of her creativity\u2014as DICK\u2019S calls her, \u201cThe Greatest Wrapper in the Game.\u201d The campaign celebrates Flau\u2019jae\u2019s signature confidence and playful energy as she takes on a very unexpected challenge: wrapping tricky sporting goods in style. (Shudder!) Starting November 12, fans can enter on @dickssportinggoods<\/a> to win limited-edition wrapping paper featuring her face and a signed piece of memorabilia\u2014a collectible nod to the girl who really can do it all. <\/p>\n When the cameras turn off, though, Flau\u2019jae\u2019s focus shifts back to the quieter rituals that keep her grounded. She\u2019s all about slow mornings away from her phone, something most 20-somethings only aspire to. Instead of a 5 a.m. start, she lets herself sleep until 6:30 or 7 (still earlier than most college seniors). As a team veteran, she feels the pressure to lead, both on and off the court.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are looking up to me to bring the energy, to bring the knowledge, to bring the confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so different now because I have to be consistent every day,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople are looking up to me to bring the energy, to bring the knowledge, to bring the confidence.\u201d Grounding herself in routines is how she stays anchored amid the noise\u2014on social media, on the court, and in the stands.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to prepare myself way before I come on the court,\u201d she says. Small things like making her bed, or doing push-ups and sit-ups \u201cto keep my six-pack tight,\u201d make her feel ultra-prepared. <\/p>\n And as soon as she gets out of bed, she starts slow: praying, 10 push-ups, 25 sit-ups, making her bed \u201cimmediately.\u201d \u201cI take my vitamins. I take my ginger shots, and then after that I go on a little walk,\u201d she says. \u201cI try not to touch my phone.\u201d Sometimes she slips and scrolls X\u2014but she tries.<\/p>\n Outside of practice, she lifts. \u201cAt first I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t wanna look real strong and big,\u2019 but then, I don\u2019t know, I just feel good being cut up, you know?\u201d She says she feels strongest when \u201cI look at a picture and like, my quad muscles popping out real bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n She\u2019s also experimenting with new versions of herself. \u201cI\u2019m trying to become a nature girl,\u201d she says, fittingly standing in front of the rock climbing exhibit at the Baton Rouge DICK\u2019S House of Sports. For downtime, she\u2019s a devoted Grey\u2019s Anatomy watcher.<\/p>\n Another shift? The look-good-feel-good mindset. \u201cMy big thing is getting cute now,\u201d she says. \u201cI used to walk out the door looking a mess. I don\u2019t do that anymore because I feel like I just need to look like I have myself together, and so I get cute.\u201d<\/p>\n The same applies before big games. Catch Flau\u2019jae 30 minutes pre-tip off and she\u2019s likely doing touch-ups in the LSU Women\u2019s Basketball Salon<\/a>, blasting Adele\u2019s \u201cRolling In The Deep.\u201d \u201cI already look good in my uniform, you know what I\u2019m saying? So look good, feel good, play good.\u201d<\/p>\n Even during practice, knowing she\u2019s being filmed for later analysis gives her \u201cjust a teeny bit\u201d of extra motivation to look polished\u2014and she feels it bleeds into how she carries herself in general. \u201cI\u2019m a senior now,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s why being a leader is kinda like, holding me accountable this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Accountability and leading by example is a trait Flau\u2019jae also admires in WNBA players\u2014especially Napheesa Collier.<\/p>\n \u201cNapheesa\u2014just like how she spoke out. A lot of people don\u2019t do that. A lot of people are scared to,\u201d she says, referencing the exit interview where Napheesa spoke critically about WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and her leadership. <\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s [Napheesa] built her own league<\/a>, to really help the betterment of women in the pay that they deserve\u2026What she\u2019s doing can change what\u2019s coming up for me and my rookie contract. So I just really appreciate women like that for speaking up for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Flau\u2019jae is doing her own version of that work, too. She recalls rejecting a name, image, and likeness offer<\/a> that undervalued her early in her career. \u201cSomebody said something one time and it really struck me. They\u2019re like, \u2018Flau\u2019jae, if you take this low ball deal, they gonna go to the next little girl and be like, \u201cWell, Flau\u2019jae took this deal, so who are you to think you could?\u201d\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of her is a final college season, and she\u2019s relying on her resilience\u2014plus her coach, Kim Mulkey.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna lie, every day in practice with Mulkey, it\u2019s just those moments where you wanna give up or where you feel like you can\u2019t go no more and then you go that shows how much strength that you actually have,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes we hold ourselves back because we think we can\u2019t go no more, but once you push past that, you\u2019re like, \u2018Wow, I really am strong.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Still, beyond rapping, philanthropy, and WNBA dreams, Flau\u2019jae is a 22-year-old with a long-twisting road in front of her. She hopes one day to tick off some personal bucket list items\u2014like running a marathon<\/a>. \u201cI could do it if I put my mind to anything you want, maybe like when I retire,\u201d she laughs. Oh, and maybe play Missy Elliott in a movie. (You heard it here first!) <\/p>\n Isabel McMahon is the assistant social media editor at Women\u2019s Health, overseeing Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook while contributing as a writer. She\u2019s a Webby People\u2019s Voice winner in Social Media – Health & Wellness and an Anthem Award Silver honoree for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and spoke on AdAge\u2019s panel about Gen Z health and wellness trends. Previously, she edited the Tales of Taboo podcast and earned an Intercollegiate Broadcast News Award for The Rundown at WNYU.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n