Raven Johnson has spoken, and she wants everyone to relax. The 2023 Final Four incident between her and Caitlin Clark is still one of those moments that refuses to fully disappear from highlight reels and social media debates.
But according to Raven Johnson, that chapter is closed, locked, filed away and possibly even deleted from memory with extreme prejudice.
She recently made it clear that Caitlin Clark has actually been helpful during training camp. Yes, helpful. Not “arch rival,” not “basketball villain.” Just a teammate with shared goals and a shared mission.
That alone is enough to confuse some fans who were emotionally preparing for a lifelong rivalry documentary.
“That’s one reason why I hate the internet now. I got bashed, I got bullied. I got called all these things that I wasn’t,” Johnson said. “I wanted to quit basketball at that time and go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself. I just leaned on God, I had some wonderful teammates and they helped me find that light and it put some much fuel to the fire for me to go back for the next year and we went undefeated and met that team again and we beat them.”
Johnson was asked at the Fever’s media day if her and Clark ever talked about the 2023 incident. Although a conversation hasn’t taken place, she doesn’t believe one is necessary since it’s in the past.
“No, we haven’t. I think that’s in the past, honestly. We’re teammates now and we have one goal, that’s to win a championship,” Johnson said. “I want to win a championship, and I’m pretty sure that’s her main goal too.”
“It’s so funny, the fans always have more beef than the players actually do,” Boston said, via Heavy.com. “So it’s always entertaining, you read all this stuff, and fans are hating on one person, hating on another. And then you’re playing with that said person. And so I think it’s going to be fine. Everyone has their thoughts, but when you come in, and you’re in the gym and you’re ready to hoop, that’s literally all it is.”
So yes, the 2023 moment still exists. But it’s no longer the story. It’s just a clip in the archives.
And for Raven Johnson and Caitlin Clark, the only thing they seem interested in writing now is the next win. No drama. No rivalry script. Just basketball.
