Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark has been, arguably, the biggest talking point of the 2024 WNBA season. Due to her impressive performances, the guard has broken several records, including the league’s and became the AP Rookie of the Year.
The 22-year-old has drawn massive attention to the WNBA, with attendance and viewership soaring every time she steps on the court. Her impact is so significant, it’s even surpassing some NBA metrics.
In a September 23 report, Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch revealed that Clark’s games averaged 1.18 million viewers across all networks, and 1.59 million excluding NBA TV. That’s more than San Antonio Spurs games featuring NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama, who also was the No. 1 draft pick, which averaged 1.01 million overall and 1.39 million without NBA TV.
Clark also outdrew the Philadelphia 76ers, who averaged 1.08 million viewers overall and 1.43 million sans NBA TV. However, Clark’s viewership is still behind the NBA’s biggest teams such as the Lakers (1.66M), Warriors (1.52M), Celtics (1.34M), and Knicks (1.33M).
But Clark’s impact is not only felt on TV. Ahead of Indiana Fever’s first Playoff game against Connecticut Sun, it was reported that the cheapest ticket for Clark’s first Playoff matchup cost $131, the same amount that cost watching all the games of the past WNBA finals.
Fever lost their first game against the Sun
However, Clark’s Playoff debut was far from perfect. The Sun defeated the Fever 93-69, with Clark finishing with 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. While her performance wasn’t her best, Clark was still optimistic about her team’s chances of winning Game 2 on Wednesday.
“Like I said, I mean, we can win. It’s not anything about the building, it’s not about the gym, it’s not about the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team and everybody in our locker room does. I know we’ll be all better on Wednesday,” she told the press.