Flau’jae Johnson emotionally honors WNBA trailblazer Candace Parker in heartfelt tribute
With Angel Reese leaving to play in the WNBA, guard Flau’jae Johnson of LSU Tigers is expected to be the next big thing in the program. Johnson has become a very well-known player in her own right by using her NIL rights to negotiate profitable contracts with several businesses, making sure she makes an impression off the court as well as on it.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Johnson has a wide range of impact in addition to music (she has been a rapper since she was a teenager) and social media, where she most recently showed her appreciation for the game of basketball by posting an homage to a retiring WNBA great.
Social media salute from Flau’jae
In honor of Candace Parker’s record 16-year WNBA career, Johnson wished her a happy retirement on Twitter on Sunday via X. When training camps for the NBA began, Johnson acknowledged Parker by posting a “thank you” with three “heart hands” emojis. Parker had stated that she was leaving professional basketball.
Thank You 🫶🫶🫶 https://t.co/V4Z2b0sMLt
— Flaujae 4️⃣ (@Flaujae) April 28, 2024
Having spent a large portion of the 2023 season recovering from surgery on her left foot, Parker had previously shown no commitment to play in the WNBA again. Parker appeared to be planning to return for one final season when she re-signed with the Las Vegas Aces in February of that year. However, she later disclosed on Instagram that her body had given basketball everything it possibly could.
• Two MVPs
• Seven-time All-Star
• Three Championships
• Two Olympic gold medals
• Her own production company
• Already a broadcasting pioneer
• A desire to pursue WNBA ownershipAfter 16 seasons, women’s basketball legend Candace Parker is calling it a career. pic.twitter.com/uJcv8O9LeF
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 28, 2024
BREAKING: WNBA legend Candace Parker has announced she’s retiring from basketball pic.twitter.com/JbXeSJK1h7
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 28, 2024
Parker, who proved she could be dominant in every area of the game, steps away from the WNBA as a three-time champion and two-time MVP. Parker was the league’s leading assist leader one season and the recipient of Defensive Player of the Year awards one other. The three titles she earned were from three different organizations: the Chicago Sky, the Los Angeles Sparks (who selected her first overall in the 2008 draft), and the Aces. She won the league’s rebounding title three times in two consecutive decades.