"I'm gonna go Steph Curry": $1.5 million NIL-valued Flau'jae Johnson chooses between different hypothetical "Sweet 16 scenarios"

Flau'jae Johnson and the LSU Tigers are gearing up for their Sweet 16 matchup against NC State on Friday. However, Johnson took a moment to entertain some hypothetical "Sweet 16 scenarios" on her podcast Best of Both Worlds on Thursday.

Among the scenarios Johnson addressed was whether she'd rather play in front of a packed arena with no fans cheering or play in an empty arena with only her teammates cheering. She said (2:50):

"My teammates are going to turn me up, but I love playing in front of crowds — it's a vibe. But my teammates would probably turn me up better for sure. Just people looking at you? I don’t think that’d be a good vibe."

Flau'jae Johnson, whose NIL value is estimated at $1.5 million per On3, also weighed in on whether she'd rather have an entire game decided by free throws or 3-pointers, saying that the latter option would be more entertaining.

"The only way to score is by free throws? No, that’s terrible. That would be a terrible game. Nobody would want to watch that," Johnson said. "I’ll say 3-pointers because I’ll go Steph Curry. I’ll go half-court, I’ll go sidestep three — I’ll be playing like James Harden. So I’d say threes."

Johnson also said that she would rather play a Sweet 16 game with one arm in a sling than a broken sneaker.

"I can’t play with a bad shoe," she added. "The feet are so important when I’m playing."

Flau'jae Johnson ditches social media to stay locked in for NCAA Tournament

Flau'jae Johnson is the highest NIL-valued female college basketball player. Social media is key to fostering NIL success, and she has over 3.7 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and X.

However, on the Best of Both Worlds podcast, she said that she would be logging off her accounts in order to keep her head in the game:

"Well, this year, the way that I'm locking in, I'm cutting social media out, and I think that that's the biggest thing for me. I feel like I kind of got away from real life.

"I keep telling everybody like I'm done with social media for real .... I bank my podcast — so I recorded a lot of podcasts — so I can really just focus on basketball."

Flau'jae Johnson missed the SEC Tournament due to injury and returned for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored 22 points in the win against SD State, followed by 13 points in the second round against Florida State.