Raven Johnson, Caitlin Clark reunite with Fever after wave-off: ‘Maybe I needed that’
Caitlin Clark and Raven Johnson were once bitter rivals at the center of one of the most viral moments in women’s college basketball, when Clark waved off a wide-open Johnson in the first quarter of the 2023 Final Four and refused to guard her. Now, Clark, the former Iowa superstar, and Johnson, the former South Carolina standout, are teammates after the Indiana Fever selected Johnson with the No. 10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Monday.
Clark was picked first in 2024. “Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell — I think I’ll learn a lot from them,” Johnson told reporters Monday night in New York. “I’m probably gonna be a gnat, too, because I’m gonna ask them a lot of questions.
” Three years ago, however, Johnson and Clark weren’t exactly on speaking terms as their teams went toe-to-toe in the Final Four. In the first quarter, Clark was supposed to be guarding Johnson on the perimeter, but she emphatically declined with a wave of her hand. Johnson shot 24.
1 percent on 3-pointers during the 2022-23 season, so Clark left her wide open, and Johnson refused to shoot the ball for fear of missing. Clark’s public dismissal filled Johnson with embarrassment that lasted long after South Carolina lost. Clark owned that moment and the overall night, totaling 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds to steer Iowa to the national championship game.
Johnson, meanwhile, finished with 13 points, including a 3-of-6 showing from behind the arc. Although she shot 50 percent on 3-pointers, Johnson recently detailed how Clark’s hand wave, albeit all in the spirit of competition, scarred her psyche. “I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the “I Am Next” podcast .
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