When Team USA won their fifth consecutive gold at the Paris Olympics in August, the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers star Flau’jae Johnson posted a picture of herself on the social media networking site Instagram, where she was emulating LeBron James’ pose. This reflected the fan craze in Johnson for her idol James, who had bagged the MVP award for the quadrennial event. And the love is mutual. James too, in the past, has given her valuable advice that has helped Johnson boost her NIL value to $1.2 million, and now the 20-year-old has shared her love for him.

Cut to Friday, when Johnson posted a new video on her podcast Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae, she revealed her admiration for the King, who had inspired her to be a better human being apart from being a top-notch basketball player.

“But, another person in the sports world would probably be LeBron James. Just like his discipline and his longevity that he’s had so long and him being consistent and everything that he’s been doing for the past 21 years. Like, it’s inspiring. So, what he off the court though like he make impact in his community and that’s something that really inspired me and something that I want to do for, for generations to come. Like, I want to change generation and that’s what LeBron doing. So, I got to give a heads-up to the GOAT man. Thank you for everything, King,” Johnson stated via Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae.

James made his NBA debut in 2003 after being drafted as the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Over the years he has been 4x NBA Champion while being the Finals MVP in all of them. To top that, currently, he is the all-time points leader with 40,474 points. But, what significantly contributes to his GOAT argument is that he is the only one of the six players to have played 21 seasons or more in the NBA apart from being the oldest player in the current lot. Plus, his off-court ventures only add much value to his personality.

Moving on, James has been an inspiration for the community. He has founded the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF), which has helped raise money for different social causes. Thus, he is a changemaker who has also funded the education of almost 2,300 children. He has also involved himself with other non-profit organizations that have raised the standard of living for many children. All in all, James is a star to look up to. And previously, Johnson had revealed how James’ words have helped her.

LeBron James’ words helped Flau’jae Johnson boost her NIL

Johnson was going through a tough time with her followers this year. Though she boasts a total of 3.4 million followers on social networking sites, the 20-year-old saw the downside of being popular when she was heavily trolled by Angel Reese’s fans for her alleged bitterness with the then Bayou-Barbie. Next, when she released her album, Johnson was again at the center of criticism for her lyrics.

Johnson admitted that during this tough period, James helped her stay motivated. “LeBron told me to keep doing my thing and don’t ever stop. That’s something that I vividly remember him saying. That was the greatest [moment] for me,” Johnson had revealed via the New York Post in March this year while divulging that James had come to attend one of the concerts. And maybe it is this spirit that has kept Johnson going through thick and thin and helped her take her NIL to the second spot among her NCAA women’s basketball peers by continuing her pursuits of basketball and rapping which have been central to her money-minting skills.

And now that Johnson has once again shared her reverence for James, hopefully, the King will not forget to take care of his fans. Perhaps, Johnson too will be able to accomplish her dreams of being as big a changemaker as James.