Women's Fastbreak On SI

Caitlin Clark's Rookie Season Was Bigger Than Victor Wembanyama's

The numbers are in, and Caitlin Clark has proven to be a bigger draw than the NBA's generational rookie.

Grant Young

Sep 22, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks at the video board in the fourth quarter against Connecticut Sun during game one of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks at the video board in the fourth quarter against Connecticut Sun during game one of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images / Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark's impact on the sport of women's basketball has been proven time and time again.

The 22-year-old has drawn an unprecedented amount of eyes and attention to the WNBA, which is shown through the staggering attendance and viewership metrics that appear each time she steps on the court.

Despite this, many fans would likely have a hard time believing that Clark could topple some of the NBA's viewership metrics, given how popular the men's game is.

But a September 23 article from Sports Media Watch's Jon Lewis proves that Clark outshone the NBA's top rookie sensation last season, San Antonio Spurs standout Victor Wembanyama.

"Fever games averaged 1.18 million viewers across all networks and 1.59 million if one excludes NBA TV, which is in fewer than 40 million homes," Lewis wrote. "That exceeds what San Antonio Spurs games (featuring much-hyped NBA #1 pick Victor Wembanyama) averaged on national television during the 2023-24 regular season (1.01 million overall, 1.39 million excluding NBA TV). It also topped the average for the big-market Philadelphia 76ers (1.08 million, 1.43 million sans-NBA TV)."

Therefore, Clark has proven to be not just a bigger national draw than Wembanyama and the Spurs, but the Philadelphia 76ers as well.

The article did make clear that while the Fever's viewership fell short of the NBA's most iconic teams like the Los Angeles Lakers (1.66M, 2.12M sans-NBA TV), Golden State Warriors (1.52M, 1.96M sans-NBA TV), Boston Celtics (1.34M, 1.74M sans-NBA TV), and New York Knicks (1.33M, 1.60M sans-NBA TV), "it is a testament to Clark’s impact that the Fever are closer to those highest-profile NBA teams than to the rest of the WNBA."

Viewership numbers of Indiana's WNBA playoffs game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday haven't been released yet. But when they do, it will most likely also break viewership records.

Given that Clark is only going to get better from here, we're just at the ground stages of seeing how she'll continue to transform women's basketball for the better.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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