Caitlin Clark’s rapid rise in women’s basketball has shown no signs of slowing down. The Indiana Fever star’s latest accolade—the WNBA’s AP Rookie of the Year award—is just the latest cherry on top of what continues to be an impressive year on and off the court.
The league’s official Rookie of the Year award will be announced later this week.
Also announced Sunday: A’ja Wilson, who averaged 26.9 points a game and is the first player in WNBA history to score more than 1,000 points in a season, was the AP’s unanimous choice as the Player of the Year.
Clark’s 2024, which continues today in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, has further cemented her status as a generational talent. She has amassed an impressive list of milestones, including:
- Set the record as the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader
- Achieved unanimous All-American status for the second time
- Starred in the most-watched women’s college basketball game
- Selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft
- Made an appearance on Saturday Night Live
- Launched her signature basketball with Wilson
- Led the Fever to their first playoff berth in eight years
The Clark Effect Is Real
It’s no secret that Clark’s on-court performance has propelled the league’s popularity and boosted TV ratings as well as attendance. The WNBA has experienced remarkable viewership growth this season, starting with a record 2.45 million viewers for the draft—nearly four times the average for the 2023 Finals. Clark’s Fever debut attracted over two million viewers, one of the highest-rated games in decades.
ESPN reported an average of 1.2 million viewers for regular-season games, a 170% increase from last year, while WNBA Countdown averaged 508,000 viewers—higher than last year’s average game viewership. Ion also saw a 133% increase and reported that 50% of its audience aged 18–49 were female, the largest percentage among WNBA broadcasters.
The WNBA playoffs began Sunday with four matchups: the Fever facing the Sun, the Liberty taking on the Dream, the Lynx matching up with the Mercury, and the Aces going up against the Storm, all while competing for viewership against the NFL.
