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The newest member of the Indiana Fever, Raven Johnson, who the team took with the 10th overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft, will team up with Caitlin Clark after a tense competitive moment between the two years ago.
In the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four, Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes met Johnson’s South Carolina Gamecocks. During that game, there was a moment where Clark had to guard Johnson, but Clark waved Johnson off to double-team another South Carolina player.
The clip of Clark waving Johnson off ended up going viral, and Johnson later said it resulted in online taunts against her.
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April 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles the ball past South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson (25) during the Final Four of the Women’s 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)
“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the “I AM NEXT” podcast in March. “That’s one of the reasons I hate the internet now, because of that situation. I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things I wasn’t, like a monkey and stuff like that, and I think I just wanted to quit basketball at that point and I just wanted to go into this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
Still, Johnson seems thrilled to now be on the same page as Clark.
After Johnson was drafted by the Fever on Monday, she said Clark is the teammate she’s most excited to play with in the pros.
FEVER’S LEXIE HULL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST PLAYER ATTACKS AS TEAM’S POPULARITY GROWS DURING CAITLIN CLARK ERA
Raven Johnson #25 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts during the first half during the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Championship against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 7, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“Caitlin Clark,” Johnson immediately said when Overtime WBB asked which new teammate she’s most excited to play with. “… She’s a phenomenal player, with the things she does, that’s standard. She can shoot the ball, she can lead a team and they win. She has a winning mentality, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”
The Fever have solidified their roster for the 2026 season as a true championship contender.
The team recently re-signed key players Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham while adding veteran Monique Billings in free agency.
The Fever have the fourth-best odds to win the WNBA title in 2026 behind the Minnesota Lynx, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty.
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Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives upcourt past South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, left, during the first half of college basketball’s Final Four championship game in the women’s NCAA tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
The Fever season ended with a 107-98 overtime loss to Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last year.
With Clark back from injury, their core intact and at least one new addition, Indiana is looking to finish the job.
