They haven’t been close off the court. They were unstoppable on it.
The 2023 LSU women’s basketball team was built on talent that could overwhelm anyone in its path. Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson delivered a national championship with a 102 to 85 win over Caitlin Clark and Iowa, a game that became one of the highest viewed in women’s basketball history.
Johnson was only a freshman that season. She looks now like someone who never left that stage. More than 17 points a night. The spark of a top five LSU squad that leans on her consistency and edge.
Reese took her success to the pros and kept rising. Seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. Two time All Star. Defensive Player of the Year in Unrivaled. A champion again with Team Rose. Every step has increased her profile and her impact.
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The league may soon give them another shared spotlight. Chicago holds the fifth pick after Sunday’s WNBA Draft Lottery. The early board should run through Lauren Betts, Awa Fam and Olivia Miles. Dallas, drafting first, could target Azzi Fudd after her title run with Paige Bueckers.
That leaves Chicago in position to take Johnson or South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson. And if Johnson is there, the fit makes sense on talent alone.
The off court part is complicated. Johnson spelled that out herself during a June appearance on the Breakfast Club. “We’re not friends but that bond that we had and that thing we did together, win a national championship, you can never take that away from us…Sometimes, stuff happens…You just got to grow. I support her in everything she do, she’s killing it in the WNBA.”
Michael Voepel’s latest ESPN mock draft sends Johnson to Chicago. A reunion built on talent, tension and the kind of storyline the WNBA rarely gets handed.
What it means for Angel Reese is still unclear. What it means for the Chicago Sky could be transformative. The league rewards star power. Chemistry determines how far it goes.
If the Sky brings them back together, the question becomes simple. They were unstoppable once. Can they be unstoppable again?
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- UCONN prepping for another title run
- What Matt Painter said after Purdue’s win in Alabama