“People Ain’t Working Like How I’m Working”: Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O’Neal’s Tales Inspire 20YO LSU Star Gunning for Basketball & Musical Success

The departure of Angel Reese from LSU means that someone else needs to step up and deliver. While Kim Mulkey has a lot of fresh faces coming in this season, the fact that they have an experienced campaigner in Flau’jae Johnson present in the locker room makes things slightly easier. And she makes a compelling case for herself, not just on the court but off it as well, considering she draws inspiration from the legendary duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

The 20-year-old had the founder of Reddit and eminent investor Alexis Ohanian on her podcast Best of Both Worlds recently. During this, she used a reference to the iconic Los Angeles Lakers pair of Bryant and O’Neal to describe her work ethic. She said, “My work ethic is off the charts. Sometimes, I be just getting a little upset feeling like people aren’t working how I’m working. ‘Cause, I’ll practice for 4 hours and stay in the gym for 2 hours and just shoot.”

Reminiscing an old conversation between Kobe and Shaq, Johnson then drew parallels to what effort she was putting in. The conversation had O’Neal telling Bryant that his work ethic was unreachable. But that made the whole team work harder, which paved the way for them to be better.

Anyhow, this wasn’t the only time when the towering giant was in awe of Bryant’s dedication. According to an LA Times article, O’Neal disclosed that the 5× NBA champion would often practice without the ball. “You’d walk in there and he’d be cutting and grunting and motioning like he was dribbling and shooting, except there was no ball,” O’Neal said. And something similar was conveyed to Johnson by LSU’s Associate Head Coach Bob Starkey.

“He said, ‘Flau’jae, you gotta realize that everybody’s not going to have your work ethic. And that made me think like nobody might reach my level of intensity, work ethic. But, if I can get them to their highest level and their max level, that going to help me grow,” Johnson revealed.

Her hard work has certainly paid off for the last 2 years. This is evident from the numbers she managed to pull off since she joined LSU. Well, her on-court brilliance is not the only exploit she can flaunt about.

Flau’jae Johnson has flourished not just on the court but off it as well

Not many players have the privilege of winning a National Championship as a freshman. But Johnson got that accomplishment off the list in her first year. Moreover, by garnering 11 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, in her 36 fixtures, she grabbed the SEC Freshman of the Year honor.

Johnson then picked up things where she left in her sophomore year. Appearing in 36 games yet again, she maintained a scoring prowess of 14.9 points while grabbing 5.5 rebounds and dishing out 2.5 assists per contest. But that is not all.

During her off-season, the dynamic LSU No.4 has made the best out of her musical aptitude. The previous month marked the debut of her album “Best of Both Worlds” at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. This collaboration with 5x Grammy Award winner Lil Wayne is a testament to how multi-talented she really is. Moreover, it also speaks volumes about her aforementioned work ethic claims.

It will indeed be a challenging task for Flau’jae Johnson to lead LSU this time around. But, by the looks of it, she seems ready to take it head-on. It will be interesting to the her approach in the upcoming season.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.