Flau’jae Johnson led the Seattle Storm to a 91-81 win over the Portland Fire in their final preseason game on Wednesday. The former LSU star tallied a game-high 20 points and added three rebounds, one assist and one steal in roughly 19 minutes.
One fan reacted to Johnson’s impressive preseason home debut:
“I told y’all Valkyries fumbled her.”
Another fan added:
“Flau’jae came in, got buckets, and barely broke a sweat doing it.”
One more fan continued:
“The fact that she could have been a Valkyrie and they really let her to. … I’m still not over it.”
Another fan commented:
“All Flau needed was real spacing!”
One fan tweeted:
“20 in 19 minutes is just rude. Some people need a full game to heat up and she basically speed ran it.”
Angel Reese’s former LSU teammate, drafted No. 8, was traded by the Golden State Valkyries to the Storm on draft night for Marta Suarez (No. 16) and a 2028 second-round pick.
According to Valkyries GM Ohemaa Nyanin, they already had a pre-draft agreement with the Storm. Regardless of who was available at No. 8, Golden State did not intend to keep the pick, which Seattle used on the 2023 NCAA champ.
Flau’jae Johnson started alongside emerging star Dominique Malonga. Storm fans, which included franchise icon Sue Bird, got their first look at what could be the team’s core for the foreseeable future.
Johnson’s best stretch came in the third quarter when she had seven points, two rebounds and one assist in seven minutes. With the versatile guard leading the way, Seattle entered the fourth quarter leading 67-60.
The 5-foot-10 Johnson added five points in the fourth quarter as the Storm cruised to a win in front of their rabid fans.
Flau’jae Johnson, Storm Lost to Valkyries in Preseason Debut
Interestingly, Flau’jae Johnson’s first game in the WNBA came against the team that traded her on draft night. On Sunday, the Storm were at the Chase Center in San Francisco to face the Golden State Valkyries.
Johnson finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and one steal in the Storm’s 78-76 loss.
Marta Suarez, the player Seattle traded Johnson for, finished with five points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Although it was only a preseason game, Valkyries fans who blasted the team for the pre-draft agreement with Seattle cheered for Johnson during the showdown.
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