Many interesting storylines popped up during the 2026 WNBA Draft, but perhaps the most surprising was the Indiana Fever selecting Raven Johnson with the No. 10 overall pick.
A two-time NCAA champion, Johnson is now Caitlin Clark’s new teammate, but what makes this selection interesting is her complicated history with Clark, which she has been quite candid about.
Revisiting How Caitlin Clark’s Viral Wave-Off Nearly Made Raven Johnson ‘Quit Basketball’
The story dates back to the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes were facing off against Johnson’s South Carolina Gamecocks. During the first quarter, Johnson dribbled up to the 3-point line, and Clark waved her off. She dared her to shoot and didn’t even bother guarding her.
The broadcast brought attention to Clark’s gesture and the message it sent: you’re not a threat from out there. Johnson was shooting 24.1% from beyond the arc on the season, so Clark wasn’t worried about her shooting from deep.
The moment went viral and impacted Johnson’s confidence in a major way.
“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the “I Am Next” podcast. “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 that I wasn’t like a monkey or, I don’t know…
“I just thought I wanted to quit basketball at that time. I wanted to go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
“I got bashed, I got bullied… I wanted to quit basketball at that time.”
Raven Johnson contemplated quitting basketball after Caitlin Clark’s wave-off at the 3-point line went viral and she got a ton of hate. Now, they are teammates on the Indiana Fever. pic.twitter.com/XRLfj9OTMI
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) April 14, 2026
Of course, she did not quit, stating that her faith and her teammates helped get her through that dark time. Johnson spent a lot of time in the gym putting up shots that offseason, using this to fuel her fire. In an article for The Players’ Tribune, she further explained what was going through her head.
“The next morning, we got on the bus and the video was everywhere…. It was literally everywhere. I’m scrolling through comments, I’m seeing that people are calling me out my name, saying how much I suck, how the loss was my fault…..,” Johnson wrote. “And the saddest part is, I believed it. I thought there was truth to every negative thing people were saying about me. Who wouldn’t want to quit?
“Tough love, I can handle. I have no problem with that. But that lil bullying people tried to do on the internet was corny,” she added. “Something that people don’t understand, unless you’ve been the main character for a day, is how dehumanizing that feels. How it erases your story. My story is mine. That’s why I wanted to write this. I want people to know Raven and how I earned this moment. Who I really am. The moments and the people that got me here.”
It’s worth noting that Johnson never blamed Clark for the online vitriol: “For the record, I don’t blame Caitlin for any of it. It’s not her fault. Damn near all is fair when we’re out there on the floor. She’s a dawg.”
Almost a year later, Johnson got her revenge against Clark and silenced her critics while playing on an even bigger stage: the 2024 national championship.
Clark scored 18 points in the first quarter alone before Dawn Staley switched Johnson onto her in the second quarter. From that point on, Clark scored just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting and committed 4 turnovers the rest of the way, as South Carolina won the title.
“I studied her moves, and I was ready. I had confidence this year,” Johnson recalled. “I was telling myself, ‘Last year was not going to happen again.'”
Now, Johnson heads to Indianapolis to join Clark on the Fever. While it might be slightly awkward at first (particularly between Johnson and the fans), she has already made it clear that there are no hard feelings between her and Clark. In fact, when asked who she’s most excited to play with in Indy, she named Clark without hesitation.
“Caitlin Clark, she’s a phenomenal player. I mean, with the things she does, she’s the bar standard,” Johnson said. “She can shoot the ball, can lead a team, and they win; she has a winning mentality, and I think that’s the biggest thing.
During her final season at South Carolina, Johnson averaged 9.9 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.5 steals on 48.6% shooting and will now play alongside Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston (whom she won a championship with in 2022) among others.
