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The Indiana Fever’s newest member, Raven Johnson, whom the team selected with the 10th overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday, will join forces with Caitlin Clark after a tense and competitive moment between the two many years ago.
In the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four, Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes faced Johnson’s South Carolina Gamecocks. During that game, there was a moment where Clark was supposed to be guarding Johnson, but Clark instructed Johnson to double-team another South Carolina player.
The clip of Clark firing Johnson ended up going viral, and Johnson later said it resulted in an online mockery of 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) in the Finals of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)
“It was on 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 hit, I got harassed, I got called all these things that I wasn’t, aka monkey and stuff like that, and I think I wanted to quit basketball at that point, and I just wanted to get into this little bubble of isolation and be alone.”
Still, Johnson seems 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 is 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 7, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“Caitlin Clark,” Johnson said immediately when Overtime WBB asked her which new teammate she was most excited to play with. “…She’s a phenomenal player, with the things she does, she’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 most important thing.”
The Fever have solidified their roster heading 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 down the 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 with a 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last year.
With Clark returning from injury, its core intact and at least one new addition, Indiana looks to finish the job.
