Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Indiana Fever made a swift selection in the WNBA Draft, targeting a player they believed would be picked much earlier in the first round.
- The choice specifically addresses a critical need for the team by providing elite defensive capabilities and playmaking skills that complement their existing stars.
- This move is expected to significantly elevate the performance of a key offensive powerhouse, allowing her to focus more on scoring while the new addition handles essential defensive and ball-handling responsibilities.
If nothing else, the Indiana Fever might well have set a record for the fastest pick ever made in the WNBA Draft. After taking Raven Johnson at No. 10 overall on Monday night, GM Amber Cox told reporters that the former South Carolina guard was someone they expected to go "probably in the top four or five. And while there might be just a little spin-room hyperbole to that, it's not by much; former five-star recruits who started three national title games don't often last to the end of the first round.
But it wasn't Johnson's pedigree that had the Fever sprinting to the podium, nor was it a desire to win the post-draft news cycle. Johnson isn't just good value for this Indiana team — she is, in so many ways, a perfect on-court fit, and exactly what Caitlin Clark needs to take the next step this season.
Raven Johnson was built in a lab to play next to Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell
Sure, it's technically true that the Fever already have their starting backcourt in Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. But there are still plenty of perimeter minutes to go around — especially with Clark's recent injury history — and Johnson is simply too clean a fit to pass up here.
Clark and Mitchell can be a devastating offensive duo when they're both rolling, that much they've already proven. Defense, however, is another question — and defense is exactly what Johnson will be able to provide in spades from the moment she steps on a WNBA court.
She's a two-time SEC All-Defense selection who took home the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2025-26, but even those accolades somehow undersell how impactful she can be at the point of attack. Johnson is in another category from every other perimeter defender in this draft class, an absolute menace who averaged three stocks per game as a senior and plays much bigger than her 5-foot-8 frame. Starting all three of Johnson, Clark and Mitchell would be dicey from a size perspective, but she's going to spend plenty of time every night taking on the opponent's toughest assignment.
It's hard to overstate what that will do for the Fever as a team this season. Johnson's presence will make it much harder to pick on either Clark or Mitchell in on-ball actions while also helping them conserve their energy for the offensive end. And speaking of which: While Johnson's defense is her calling card, don't overlook the impact she can have on Indiana — and on Clark in particular — as a floor general.
The Fever needed another tablesetter, both for Caitlin Clark and their offense
Of course, when Clark is on the floor, the Fever (and, it should be noted, Clark herself) are going to want the ball in her hands as often as possible. And for good reason — she's an offense unto herself. But Indiana could strain at times under the weight of Clark's burden, and the ways in which things became a bit too predictable.
Johnson is by no means a dynamic scorer, but she's made impressive strides as a playmaker and creator with the ball in her hands, posting a career-high 5.1 assists (to just 1.6 turnovers) per game as a senior at South Carolina. Her creativity as a passer has grown by leaps and bounds since she first got to campus, and you can bet that those skills will come in handy for Indiana moving forward.
When she shares the floor with Clark and/or Mitchell, she can serve as an initiator to remove some of the ball-handling pressure and allow them to be used more as off-ball threats. And even more crucially, she can immediately step up as the leader of the Fever's second unit, helping to get things organized and keep the offense afloat while Clark and Mitchell rest.
All of which should, hopefully, help Clark become a more well-rounded WNBA player as she enters her third season in the league. Her new backcourt mate is more than happy to handle the dirty work defensively, and get the ball into her hands at different spots on the floor without having to work so hard for it. Clark's ultimate ceiling was always going to be defined by the players around her; Johnson should relish doing all the things the Fever need to help their leader shine.