Flau'jae Johnson Arrives in Seattle and She's Already the Biggest Star the City Has Seen Since Ken Griffey Jr.

She rolled up to the Storm practice facility on Thursday morning in a black SUV, and there was a giant "Welcome Flaujae" sign waiting for her. New teammates. Energy everywhere. And this 22-year-old rookie walked out ready to go. "I'm so ready to get this started," Flau'jae Johnson said, flashing that megawatt smile that's already got the city talking.

Think about this for a second: not since Ken Griffey Jr. landed in Seattle with the Mariners back in 1989 has a young professional athlete shown up in the Emerald City with this much charisma and star power. Johnson is a basketball player, a recording artist and rapper, a philanthropist, and she's got fans in places most rookies can only dream about. Jay-Z. Lil Wayne. These aren't casual followers. The Storm acquired her in a trade during Monday night's WNBA draft, taking her No. 8 overall, and it feels like something bigger just arrived in town.

From Empire State to the Pacific Northwest

The past week for Johnson has been absolutely wild. Three days before the draft, she was filming a video for her latest single "Woah" on the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building. By Monday night, she was walking the orange carpet at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York wearing a sleek black cutout velvet gown with a fuzzy black shawl that had everyone talking. "The fit was amazing," she said. "I wanted to do something different. I didn't want it to look like I was at the WNBA draft. I wanted to make a statement."

When Commissioner Cathy Engelebert announced her name, Johnson walked across the stage as loudspeakers blared her song "Woah." Twenty-four hours later, she was on Good Morning America with Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos, wearing a No. 20 Gary Payton Sonics shirt and a Storm baseball cap. Then came a five-hour flight to Seattle, where reality hit different.

A New Life on the West Coast

During that flight from New York, Johnson's mind was racing. "I'm just thinking, my life is starting. I'm a pro now. This is my job," she said. She was coming off LSU's buzzer-beating loss to Duke in the Sweet 16, and suddenly everything was moving fast. Real fast.

"I'm moving to the Pacific Northwest. I'm moving to the other side of the country. I'm from the South," Johnson said. "I'm just like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to be alone.' But I'm very excited. I get to start my life. I get to go to this great organization."

Here's the thing about Johnson: she wakes up at 5 a.m. She might be the busiest person in professional sports right now, and she's got no plans to pump the brakes. "Some people, when they get to where they want it to be, and they worked all their life to be there, they get a little complacent," she said. "But me, I feel like I'm back at the starting line."

The Storm just welcomed someone special to Seattle. And trust me, this city is ready.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.