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Flau'jae Johnson reflected on her first interaction with four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, sharing what stood out from their initial meeting.
Johnson described the exchange, which came during their first matchup on June 8, in an interview with CBS Sports' Isabel Gonzalez published Aug. 5.
Johnson said everything is coming full circle and that she gets to see players she looked up to growing up.
"I was just on the free throw line, and she was like, 'You are doing your thing,'" Johnson said. "And I was like, wow. She is an MVP."
"She ain't really real if you ask me," she added. "So that was cool to hear her say that."
Johnson and the Seattle Storm lost that game 101-91 in Las Vegas, and she finished with 13 points. Wilson had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists and became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 career points, doing it in 278 games to break Diana Taurasi's mark of 291.
The Storm are 6-27 and hold the worst record in the league. Seattle has lost 10 straight since beating the Los Angeles Sparks on July 6, and became the first WNBA franchise to put together two double-digit losing streaks in the same season.
Seattle's most recent loss came 92-86 to the New York Liberty on Aug. 5 in Brooklyn. Breanna Stewart scored 28 points for New York, and Jonquel Jones added 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Even with the team's loss, Dominique Malonga led Seattle with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Awa Fam and Jade Melbourne each added 13 points.
During the third quarter, the team lost Katie Lou Samuelson to a right knee injury. She is being evaluated by the medical staff, according to Storm coach Sonia Raman, who spoke about the injury after the game. Samuelson tore the ACL in the same knee in May 2025 and missed that season.
Malonga scored 15 of her points in the second quarter and finished 14-of-20 from the field with two 3-pointers. She became the youngest player in league history to score 30 points and shoot 70% from the floor in a game.
Johnson is averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 81.7% from the free-throw line. She has played and started in all 33 games that the franchise has played this season, including a career-high 28 against the Liberty on June 25.
Seattle is going through a rebuild centered on Malonga, Johnson, Fam, and Ezi Magbegor. Johnson leads the team in steals at 1.3 per game and is third in scoring.
Malonga leads the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounds (8.7) and blocks (1.3). The 20-year-old was the second overall pick in the 2025 draft and dunked in the All-Star Game on July 25, the youngest player to do so in the event's history.
Natisha Hiedeman leads the team in assists with 4.7 per game and is second in scoring at 15.9 points.
Johnson was the eighth overall pick in April's draft. Golden State selected her and traded her to Seattle that night for Zaay Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick.
The Storm visit the Portland Fire on Aug. 8.
Continue reading...
Johnson described the exchange, which came during their first matchup on June 8, in an interview with CBS Sports' Isabel Gonzalez published Aug. 5.
Johnson said everything is coming full circle and that she gets to see players she looked up to growing up.
"I was just on the free throw line, and she was like, 'You are doing your thing,'" Johnson said. "And I was like, wow. She is an MVP."
"She ain't really real if you ask me," she added. "So that was cool to hear her say that."
Johnson and the Seattle Storm lost that game 101-91 in Las Vegas, and she finished with 13 points. Wilson had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists and became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 career points, doing it in 278 games to break Diana Taurasi's mark of 291.
The Storm are 6-27 and hold the worst record in the league. Seattle has lost 10 straight since beating the Los Angeles Sparks on July 6, and became the first WNBA franchise to put together two double-digit losing streaks in the same season.
Seattle's most recent loss came 92-86 to the New York Liberty on Aug. 5 in Brooklyn. Breanna Stewart scored 28 points for New York, and Jonquel Jones added 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Even with the team's loss, Dominique Malonga led Seattle with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Awa Fam and Jade Melbourne each added 13 points.
During the third quarter, the team lost Katie Lou Samuelson to a right knee injury. She is being evaluated by the medical staff, according to Storm coach Sonia Raman, who spoke about the injury after the game. Samuelson tore the ACL in the same knee in May 2025 and missed that season.
Malonga scored 15 of her points in the second quarter and finished 14-of-20 from the field with two 3-pointers. She became the youngest player in league history to score 30 points and shoot 70% from the floor in a game.
Johnson is averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 81.7% from the free-throw line. She has played and started in all 33 games that the franchise has played this season, including a career-high 28 against the Liberty on June 25.
Seattle is going through a rebuild centered on Malonga, Johnson, Fam, and Ezi Magbegor. Johnson leads the team in steals at 1.3 per game and is third in scoring.
Malonga leads the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounds (8.7) and blocks (1.3). The 20-year-old was the second overall pick in the 2025 draft and dunked in the All-Star Game on July 25, the youngest player to do so in the event's history.
Natisha Hiedeman leads the team in assists with 4.7 per game and is second in scoring at 15.9 points.
Johnson was the eighth overall pick in April's draft. Golden State selected her and traded her to Seattle that night for Zaay Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick.
The Storm visit the Portland Fire on Aug. 8.
Continue reading...
