Raven Johnson Reveals Fever Play Call After Preseason Debut
raven johnson’s first game for the Indiana Fever ended with a win over the New York Liberty and a postgame slip that turned heads. The rookie accidentally gave away one of Indiana’s play calls after Saturday’s preseason debut, then apologized repeatedly as coach Stephanie White and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough cut in.
Johnson’s first Fever game
Johnson was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and Indiana used her immediately in its preseason win Saturday. She answered with two blocks, went 3-for-3 from the field and handed out eight assists, a line that gave the Fever more than just a look at a rookie learning the system.
White said Johnson did a good job after the game and said the Fever already knew what she brought to the defense. That expectation is part of the assignment from here: the Fever want that defense every night, not just in one preseason outing.
Caitlin Clark and the red call
The mistake came in a postgame interview, when Johnson explained how Caitlin Clark has helped her get comfortable with the playbook. “She's the one that I've been asking a lot of questions to,” Johnson said.
She then let the call out while describing one specific word: “Actually, she helps me a lot. I'm like, 'What is red?' And she says, 'It's trap,' and I'm like wow, it's that simple --”
That was enough for White to jump in and laugh it off, with Walker-Kimbrough also interrupting as Johnson realized what she had just said. Johnson kept apologizing after the slip, a small rookie mistake in a setting where every word gets more attention because Clark is back on the floor and Indiana is under a brighter spotlight than most preseason teams.
Indiana’s rookie lesson
The useful part for the Fever is that the same debut that produced the play-call blunder also showed why Johnson was drafted at No. 10. Indiana got defense, passing and perfect shooting from a rookie who was asked questions by teammates, then answered on the court before one loose answer escaped in the interview room.
For Johnson, the immediate takeaway is simple: the Fever already trust her defense, and now she has a first-game stat line to match it. For everyone around her, the mistake is already part of the record, but the bigger item was the debut itself — and how quickly she fit into a rotation that is drawing attention on every possession.
