As the NBA struggles to maintain soaring popularity, Caitlin Clark has some ideas to help.
The WNBA star talked about the NBA season and its ratings dip on Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast in an episode released Thursday.
“I feel like the average, just like, basketball fan doesn’t understand how good NBA players are, and they think it looks like they’re ‘not trying,’” Clark said. “I promise you they’re trying; they’re just like, so good. Like, that’s why it looks like they’re not trying.
“And obviously the physicality of the league has changed a lot. And I wasn’t around when it was like much more physical, and maybe people want more like beef and physicality and people think it’s gotten soft. But, I think that’s also because the skill has just changed. And like that’s what’s great about basketball, like it’s always evolving. … I love three-point shooting; I love seeing guys just like launch threes, but not everybody loves that.”
Clark, who will start her second season on the Indiana Fever in May, also mentioned the NBA is going up against the biggest TV draw in football right now, that the league drew its best opening-night viewership in years, and buzz around the NBA Cup died down in Year 2. The NBA also recorded its most-watched Christmas in five years.
But in between those two dates, viewership suffered. Two weeks ago, ratings were down 19% from last year. Commissioner Adam Silver admitted they were “down a bit” and blamed a move toward streaming, which the NBA will benefit from next year through its new $77 billion media deal that includes Amazon Prime Video. Thanks to the Christmas lift, NBA viewership on ESPN is up 5% from last year, the league announced Monday. But factoring in TNT, viewership is still down 3%.
Clark has plenty of suggestions for the league. She said she’s not a fan of the new four-team All-Star tournament and wants the NBA to return to the traditional East vs. West format. She lit up when Travis Kelce suggested a four-point line (“Adam Silver, four-point line!” she said) and added that two hot-spots worth four points might work well. Clark also supported Travis’s idea of increasing the league’s physicality with hockey-style fights and suggested a two-minute penalty box instead of ejections. (Jason suggested an “NBA Jam Rule” that shots count for more points for consecutive makes. Clark was less enthusiastic but said “that would be cool.”)
Clark also said she thinks the NBA’s 82-game season is too long, and it means teams have less time to practice. She said she “can’t imagine” playing that many games in a season. (The WNBA season is increasing from 40 to 44 games in 2025, and it will continue to grow with more expansion teams.)
“I think 82 games is a lot on somebody’s body, and like, mentally.”
