The first time Indiana Fever guard Raven Johnson met Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, she was a self-described “shy” ninth-grader.

Johnson had just begun working with touted Atlanta-area trainer Justin Holland, whose core player group included Edwards, then a high school junior who had trained with Holland since he was 14.

While Johnson was on the precipice of becoming a household name at Westlake High School, Edwards had already established himself as a can’t-miss prospect — especially in their hometown of Atlanta. He was a five-star recruit ranked as the top shooting guard in the class of 2019.

“I was starstruck,” Johnson said. “I remember watching him train — the stuff he was saying. I’m like, ‘Dang, he doesn’t care what he says or how he says it.’”

When Johnson first introduced herself to Edwards, though, her sense of awe was overshadowed by her playful and competitive nature.

“I said that I could beat him in a one-on-one matchup,” Johnson recalled.

It didn’t take long for the two basketball players to click. Holland said they meshed because their personalities were so similar, describing them as authentically unfiltered, humorous and an embodiment of Atlanta culture.

“She came into the gym with that exact same energy as me,” Edwards said. “For real, she was like a younger version of myself out there.”

Since training together in Atlanta as kids, Johnson and Edwards have gone on to collect some of the highest accolades their sports have to offer — from All-America selections and national championships to All-NBA honors and an Olympic gold medal.

As they have climbed their respective levels of competition, the duo has maintained a tight bond while supporting each other’s journeys that now sees them as pro athletes — Edwards, a 24-year-old perennial NBA All-Star currently in the playoffs with the Timberwolves, and Johnson readying for her rookie debut in the WNBA with the Fever.

“It’s like a surreal moment just to see both of us living our dreams,” said Johnson, who turned 23 last month.

Early in their training, Edwards became an aspirational figure for Johnson. The 5-foot-8 point guard aimed to adopt the same habits and work ethic as Edwards, with the goal of following in his footsteps and becoming a high-level recruit on the national level.

Under Holland, Johnson and Edwards practiced at least six days a week, spending many late nights in the gym sharpening their craft. The duo’s bond grew.

“Next thing I know, she’s calling him [son], and he’s calling her his daughter,” Holland said. “So that’s kind of, like, the relationship that they’ve taken.” 

When Edwards was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft — which was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic — Johnson was at his Atlanta draft party. By that time, Johnson had already won multiple state titles and had been named 2020 Miss Georgia Basketball. Seeing Edwards reach the pro level motivated Johnson to double down on her own dream.

“I thought, like, I was experiencing everything. In my mind, I’m like, ‘This is going to be me one day at a draft,’” said Johnson, who committed to South Carolina a few months later and ended her high school career as the top point guard in her class. Edwards was featured in one of her commitment videos.

Even after he left Atlanta, first to star at Georgia and then in the NBA, Edwards and Johnson continued to show up for each other. Edwards would support Johnson and Holland at AAU tournaments. Johnson has caught some Timberwolves games in Minnesota.

“In the summers, when [Edwards] would come home, he would always kind of hang out with her, give her pointers,” Holland said.

Following the Gamecocks’ painful loss to Iowa in the Final Four in 2023 — a game that included the now-infamous moment when Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark notably waved off Johnson as a way to dismiss her shooting ability — Edwards sent his friend a message of encouragement.

“Don’t let this bring you down. You know who you are … so you can’t let this situation change you,” Edwards told Johnson, as she detailed for The Players’ Tribune in 2024. “You need to get in the gym and work on your weakness. … Nothing’s going to be handed to you. You just need to get in the gym and do what others don’t do.”

Edwards reaching out to Johnson in a time of need, even as he was closing out his own NBA season, meant a lot to her.

“That just tells me he’s watching and he’s paying attention to the little details,” Johnson said. “He cares.”

Holland said Johnson being able to turn to Edwards, and vice versa, to connect on an athletic level and within a familial circle has been one of the most important factors in their success.

“I’m probably more of a father figure to Raven than anything. So she’ll confide in Ant about things that she won’t confide in me. So, I know, from athlete to athlete, that perspective and that adversity — they’ve all had to deal with it,” said Holland, who with Edwards in 2020 co-founded AE Five Enterprises, a company that serves as a hub for Edwards’ business, brand and charity efforts. “So, you know, just giving her those nuggets that he also had to go through at one point of his career that only a player that’s going through it can actually touch on.”

Edwards gave Johnson advice throughout her draft process, from the details of moving to a new city to the realities of being a rookie starting from square one.

Edwards told Johnson to be grateful for any situation and not to take the moment for granted, as she had worked hard to make it to the draft.

After Johnson was taken No. 10 overall by the Fever, Edwards called her.

“Yeah, I can’t say what we really talked about,” Johnson joked. “He told me just, ‘You work for things like this and you’re living out your dream.’ He told me that he’s really proud of me.”

Holland said Edwards was beaming with pride as he watched Johnson walk onstage and receive her jersey from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“It was a big moment for us all,” Holland said. 

During the Fever’s media day last week, Johnson posed for a photo that encapsulated the journeys of both Edwards and hers. She sat on a stool, now a WNBA player, wearing a No. 3 Indiana jersey. On her feet were a pair of blue Adidas AE 2s, Edwards’ signature shoe. Johnson announced her signing with the shoe brand in April.

“It seems crazy to look at how far we’ve come, but at the same time, it’s really not,” Edwards said. “Me, Raven, and Justin all believed that if we just put the work in, we could make some major things happen. Actually seeing us do some of these things we talked about, both on the court and in business, is pretty special.”

The emotional moments Edwards and Johnson share are balanced by a dose of humor and lightheartedness.

When asked what Edwards may have learned from her over the nearly 10 years they’ve known each other, the same spirit that sparked Johnson’s one-on-one challenge at their first meeting once again shined through, as she jumped at the opportunity to take a lighthearted jab at her friend.

“I taught him everything he knows,” Johnson said. “His basketball skills, his drip. We’rel still working on the drip, though. He’s not all the way there.”

Johnson was filled pride, though, as she reflected on how far she and Edwards have come.

“We started from the bottom of the bottom,” Johnson said. “Just to see each other’s journeys and push each other through, you know, the hard times and the good times — it means a lot.”

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