WNBA Smashes Ratings Record With Competitive All-Star Game

The WNBA’s hot streak continues into its Olympic break. 

Saturday’s All-Star Game in Phoenix between Team USA and Team WNBA drew a record 3.44 million viewers, more than double the previous mark of 1.44, which was set in 2003 when the game took place at Madison Square Garden. 

The game’s rating is the most-watched WNBA event on any ESPN network and the third-most-watched WNBA game ever, with the top two coming on the league’s debut weekend in 1997, according to Sports Media Watch.

The game was unusually compelling by all-star standards, as a Team WNBA led by non-Olympians took on the U.S. national team. Arike Ogunbowale, who has said she withdrew her name from the USA team pool because she wouldn’t be selected over “politics,” led Team WNBA with 34 points in a 117–109 win. Team WNBA also had the novelty of Caitlin Clark—another Olympic snub—and Angel Reese playing together.

Before this season, the WNBA had not hit the one million viewership mark in 16 years, according to Sports Media Watch. Now it hits seven-figure numbers regularly. 

The blockbuster ratings come on the heels of the NBA agreeing to media-rights deals reportedly worth $2.2 billion over 11 years for the WNBA. Despite being a record for the league, both the WNPBA and former standouts such as Cheryl Miller, who coached Team WNBA, have blasted the deal compared to the $76 billion the NBA got from its new package. 

With the Paris Olympics starting Wednesday, the league is now on hiatus until Aug. 15.