Caitlin Clark Is The WNBA, And Nobody Is Watching It Without Her
The WNBA became the sport watched the most this summer when the Indiana Fever drafted Iowa's star guard Caitlin Clark with the first overall pick.
The Fever were the worst team in the league last season, and of course, this year, they made the playoffs because of Clark.
Even though Indiana made the playoffs, they were still heavy underdogs to win the title. They only made it two games, losing to the Connecticut Sun.
Clark's last game of her rookie season drew a lot of attention. According to Sports Media Watch and Outkick's Dan Zaksheske, the Fever's game one loss at Connecticut averaged 1.84 million viewers, the largest viewership for a WNBA playoff game since 2000.
Clark moves the needle, and when she is playing, everyone in America wants to watch, but when she isn't on the screen, the WNBA ratings tank, and they are nearly down 50% since Clark was eliminated.
The Las Vegas Aces, who won the title last season, took on the New York Liberty this past weekend. According to Zaksheske from Outkick, "The ABC matchup drew an average of 929,000 viewers, which is perfect for the WNBA. However, that was down nearly 50 percent from last Sunday's Fever-Sun contest."
The WNBA is Clark's league, and everyone else is below her. If it weren't for her, the WNBA would've never taken off like it did this season.
The facts and data show that most people want to watch the former Iowa star play, and they lose interest when she isn't on the court.
Next season, the WNBA better hope the Fever go all the way to the title because ratings will be at an all-time high and could even rival the NBA Finals for the best ratings in basketball.
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