Raven Johnson's 'revenge tour' adds a surprise stop: Getting drafted by Caitlin Clark's WNBA team

It turns retired Raven Johnson’s “revenge tour” wasn’t wholly over.

The South Carolina defender was selected arsenic the 10th wide prime by the Indiana Fever astatine the 2026 WNBA draught Monday, mounting her up to beryllium reunited with a erstwhile assemblage teammate arsenic good arsenic a notable rival.

Described arsenic “one of the astir WNBA-ready players” successful the mock draught by The Times, the two-time nationalist champion was famously waved disconnected by then-Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark during their Final Four matchup successful the 2023 NCAA women’s hoops tournament.

During the archetypal quarter, Clark declined to defender Johnson, who had the shot extracurricular of the three-point line, with question of her limb portion turned distant from her. Not lone did Clark’s squad spell connected to win, the taunt — overmuch similar a fig of different moments involving the sharpshooting erstwhile Hawkeye — went viral.

Johnson has been unfastened astir however that infinitesimal and the online effect took a toll connected her intelligence health.

“I was each implicit the internet,” Johnson said portion discussing immoderate of the adversity she’s faced successful her hoops vocation connected a caller occurrence of the “I Am Next” podcast. “I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called each these things that I wasn’t ... similar a monkey [and] conscionable things similar that. I wanted to discontinue hoops astatine that clip and I wanted to conscionable spell successful this small bubble of isolation and conscionable beryllium by myself.”

She credited her religion and the enactment of her teammates and loved ones for being capable to crook it astir and usage the infinitesimal to substance her “revenge tour” the adjacent year. South Carolina bushed Clark’s Hawkeyes successful the 2024 nationalist title to headdress disconnected an undefeated season.

Caitlin Clark and Raven Johnson astatine the 2024 NCAA women’s hoops tournament.

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

At slightest successful portion due to the fact that of this history, the online effect to Johnson being drafted by the Fever has been divided among the team’s fans arsenic good arsenic the supporters of each of the idiosyncratic players. But the Fever unit were intelligibly elated to beryllium capable to nab Johnson disconnected the board.

“Let’s go,” Fever manager Stephanie White said successful a video telephone with Johnson posted connected societal media connected Monday. “We are truthful excited.”

Johnson isn’t the lone 1 who is acceptable to articulation forces with a rival successful the adjacent section of their career. Following her commercialized from the Sparks, Rickea Jackson volition beryllium teammates with Chicago Sky halfway Kamilla Cardoso, whose game-winning buzzer beater for the Gamecocks took down the former’s Tennessee squad astatine the 2024 Southeastern Conference tournament.

And that’s not to notation the Washington Mystics pursuing their enactment of UCLA halfway Lauren Betts arsenic the 4th wide prime Monday by aboriginal drafting Texas standout Rori Harmon successful the 3rd round. Betts’ viral artifact is what sealed UCLA’s triumph implicit Texas astatine the Final Four en way to the Bruins’ title triumph earlier this month. (The Mystics besides selected UCLA guardant Angela Dugalic successful the archetypal round.)

Despite the naysayers, Johnson appears excited to beryllium joining a title contender with the Fever. During a Monday quality conference, Johnson mentioned Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell among the team’s vets she’s looking guardant to learning from.

“She has taught maine truthful overmuch done my assemblage experience,” Johnson said of Boston, her erstwhile assemblage teammate. “She taught maine what pro habits were. She taught maine you person to bring those habits each time to practice. ... She is simply a phenomenal person. She instills truthful overmuch successful young radical and there’s nary mode you don’t privation to play with idiosyncratic similar that [and] look up to idiosyncratic similar that.”