Caitlin Clark’s rookie season with Indiana Fever has been one of the biggest talking points during the 2024 WNBA season. The 22-year-old star has not only broken several records during her first year as a professional, she has also proven that she is a magnet for viewership.
After it was reported that Fever’s games were watched more than some NBA teams, Clark’s first WNBA Playoff game also drew an incredible number of viewership. Per Sports Media Watch, an average of 1.84 million people tuned in to watch Clark’s postseason debut despite the fact that it was an NFL Sunday.
The ratings are especially impressive as it was the highest-rated WNBA playoff game since the 2000 WNBA Finals and the most-watched non-Finals game since 1999. After Fever lost 93-69 to the Connecticut Sun, they need a win on Wednesday to force a third game in Indiana.
Clark herself described Fever’s last game as “crappy,” with “no flow.” However, the AP Rookie of the Year is confident that the team can have a win to keep advancing in the postseason.
Fever have only won once the WNBA Championship. It was in 2012, when the franchise defeated the Minnesota Lynx. This is also the franchise’s first playoffs’ since 2016, which also means that the majority of the player are inexperienced at this stage.
Clark doesn’t shy away from the pressure
Ahead of the Game 2, Clark was clear that, while this might be her first playoffs, she isn’t new to high pressure situations. “This is a win or go home situation. This is very different from college, and it’s a learning process for me too. Obviously, this is my first playoffs,” she told the press on Tuesday.
“You don’t always know what to expect because a lot of us have never been here […] But I feel like I have been in a lot of high pressure, intense games and that’s what the playoffs is. So, it’s not anything you shy away from, some are going to be good, some are not going to be as good. Lucky for us, the first game wasn’t as great, but you have an opportunity to come back the next game,” she added.