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The newest member of the Indiana Fever, Raven Johnson, who the team took with the 10th overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday, will join forces with Caitlin Clark after a tensely competitive moment between the two many 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 when Clark was supposed to be guarding Johnson, but Clark waved Johnson off to double-team another South Carolina player.
The clip of Clark waving off Johnson ended up going viral, and Johnson later said it resulted in online mockery against her.
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Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles the ball past South Carolina Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson (25) in the finals of 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 reason I hate the internet now, because of that situation. I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things I wasn’t, aka like a monkey and things like that, and I just think I wanted to quit basketball at that time, and I just wanted to go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
Still, Johnson appears excited to now be on the same side 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 ATTACKS ON PLAYERS AS TEAM’S POPULARITY GROWS DURING CAITLIN CLARK ERA
Raven Johnson #25 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts in the first half during the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Championship against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 07, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“Caitlin Clark,” Johnson said immediately when asked by Overtime WBB which new teammate she’s most excited to play with. “… She’s a phenomenal player, with the things she does, it’s bar 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 going into 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 up court past South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, left, during the first half of the Final Four college basketball championship game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
The Fever’s season ended in 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last year.
With Clark returning from injury, their core intact and at least one new addition, Indiana is looking to finish the job.
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