The Indiana Pacers selected Raven Johnson with the No. 10 pick in the 2026 draft, putting her on the same team as Caitlin Clark. But earlier in Johnson’s journey, Clark was actually part of a moment that nearly pushed her away from basketball.
During the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Johnson’s South Carolina Gamecocks faced Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the Final Four. Late in the first quarter, a clip went viral showing Clark on defense choosing not to guard Johnson, waving her off and daring her to take a three-point shot.
That moment, along with South Carolina’s loss, hit Johnson hard. As a freshman, she suddenly found herself at the center of online criticism. The trolls on social media were harsh, and it took a real toll on her, even escalating to her considering quitting basketball.
“That’s one reason I hate the internet now, because of that situation,” Johnson said. “I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things that I wasn’t like a monkey… I wanted to quit basketball at that time. I wanted to just go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
Despite how difficult that period was, Johnson found a way to get out of the spiral. A year later, she got her chance at redemption, defeating the same team in the National Championship game.
“I leaned on God,” Johnson added. “I had some wonderful teammates, wonderful people in my life. They helped me find that light and they put so much fuel to the fire to me to go back the next year. We went undefeated and met that team again and we beat them.”
Raven Johnson is excited to learn from Caitlin Clark and co.
Joining the Indiana Fever is a huge opportunity for any player, especially with a core that features stars like Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell. Raven Johnson is ready to make the most of it by learning from some of the league’s best with the hopes to leave her mark on the team.
“Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell – I think I’ll learn a lot from them,” Johnson said after getting drafted by the Fever. “I’m gonna be a sponge. I’m probably going to be a gnat, too, because I’m going to ask them a lot of questions… They like to win. I think that that’s really big.”
With Clark and Mitchell expected to lead the starting backcourt, Johnson will likely come off the bench. She is in a strong position to make an immediate impact on her new team as an integral part of the second unit.
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