After Caitlin Clark carried the WNBA to its most high-profile and lucrative season ever, the league’s brightest young star may have just one game left to make her sensational off-court impact felt.
The Sun blew out the Fever 93-69 in front of an 8,910-person crowd in Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, as all four first-round WNBA playoff matchups got underway. Viewership is not yet available for the game that aired on ABC, but it tipped off at 3 p.m. ET, just as the NFL’s witching hour was kicking off.
With the loss, Indiana faces a must-win Game 2 back at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday night. If Clark and Co. win, they’ll host a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday night in Indianapolis. If the Fever lose, their season is over.
Best Show in Town
By whichever metric you look at, Clark helped take the WNBA to new heights in 2024.
On the TV ratings front, games involving Clark drew an average audience of 1.18 million, while all other games averaged 394,000 viewers. That’s a 199% difference.
At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Fever averaged a WNBA record of 17,035 fans per game. When combining road games, Indiana averaged a record 16,084 tickets sold per contest. The Fever’s season finale at Washington was the most-attended regular-season game in WNBA history with 20,711 fans.
Adding to the Trophy Case
There was some confusion surrounding Clark on Sunday after the Associated Press named her the unanimous choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year. The WNBA has not yet revealed its official Rookie of the Year award winner, although Clark has been the favorite to take that honor, too. The league will announce its winner at a later date.
Clark did finish fourth in the WNBA’s official MVP voting that was announced Sunday. Aces center A’ja Wilson was the unanimous choice, winning her third league MVP award.
