Raven Johnson Explains Why She's Most Excited to Team Up With Caitlin Clark on Fever
When the Indiana Fever selected Raven Johnson with the No. 10 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the first thing that many Fever fans thought of was Johnson's history with Caitlin Clark.
Johnson played under Dawn Staley with the South Carolina Gamecocks for the past four seasons. She played against Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments. And because Clark and Johnson are both point guards, they were matched up with each other during those games.
Clark got the better of Johnson in 2023. She scored 41 points and added 8 rebounds and 8 assists in that Final Four game, and Iowa handed South Carolina their first loss of the season to end Aliyah Boston's college career. Clark also went viral for waving Johnson off when she was at the three-point line, daring her to shoot from a range that Clark can sink from in her sleep.
Johnson and the Gamecocks got revenge against Clark's Hawkeyes in the 2024 national championship game, beating them by a score of 87-75. Clark still scored 30 points in that game, but the loss ended her historic college career without a championship.
Raven Johnson's Stance on Playing with Caitlin Clark Speaks Volumes
Desite their competitive history together, Johnson clearly holds Clark in very high regard. This was made clear by comments she made when being interview by Overtime after Monday's draft.
When asked which player she was the most excited to play with on the Fever, Johnson didn't hesitate and said, "Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark," per an Instagram post from @overtimewbb.
Raven was then asked what it is about Caitlin, and she said, "She is a phenomenal player. I mean, with the things she does, it's bar standard. She can shoot the ball, can lead a team, and they win. Like, she has a winning mentality. And I think that's the biggest thing."
The interviewer responded by saying, "Because that's you," noting Johnson's own winning mentality. To which Raven said, "Yep! Exactly."
After that, Johnson was asked whether there's someone on the Fever who she knows will take her under her wing. Unsurprisingly, she responded with, "Aliyah Boston. Another Gamecock. Ty Harris, she's there, too. So those two."
It will be really cool to see how Clark and Johnson's relationship develops during this 2026 Fever season. What's for sure is that they'll sharpen each other's skillsets on the practice court every day.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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