Players, coaches and fans around the world are gearing up for what is already a transformative season for the WNBA, headlined by record-breaking No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark.
The new season starts on Wednesday AEST, but a surge in ticket sales has already prompted teams to move games to larger venues.
The league also recently launched a charter flight program for players that would generate $50 million over the next two years.
Players and coaches said a sea change had arrived for the WNBA after decades in which the men’s “Big Four” — the NBA, NFL, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball — maintained their grip on American sports.
“It’s not business as usual. And it’s been brewing for a while,” Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters.
“We were on a wave. But now it’s a bit like a tsunami.”
Clark and a charismatic group of rookies, including Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky and Cameron Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks, received the lion’s share of the credit.
The hype around Clark stems in part from a series of scintillating performances with Iowa’s NCAA team in February and March, when she became the Division I women’s all-time leading scorer, the major college scoring record holder and the Division I career scoring record holder for both women and men.
A record 2.45 million people watched Clark be selected first overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft on April 16.
His college final against South Carolina drew the largest television audience for a basketball game in the United States since 2019.
And Clark’s merchandise has become the best-selling product of any draft pick for sports apparel maker Fanatics, with brands lining up to do business with the guard.
“There’s no one who’s been in the spotlight more, under a bigger microscope in the women’s game, probably in the history of the game, than Caitlin Clark. And she’s always risen to the moment,” said Rebecca Lobo, a Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst who played in the league starting as a freshman in 1997.
“She seems to be a player who doesn’t get too fazed by what we see as pressure or expectations.”
“It took a long time”
The growing interest came as no surprise to veteran players.
The league had its most-watched season in more than two decades last year, driven by the popularity of its two “super teams,” the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces.
“We could feel it last season,” MVP Breanna Stewart told reporters.
“This tipping point and this movement has been a long time coming.”
The Las Vegas Aces, the wildly popular champions, are moving their July 2 game against Clark’s Fever from their home venue to a larger 18,000-seat arena.
The Los Angeles Sparks had originally planned to play their first five home games at Long Beach State due to renovations at their regular stadium.
They moved three games – including a May 24 meeting against the Fever – from the university’s facilities to the arena they share with the NBA’s Lakers.
“Women’s basketball is experiencing unprecedented viewership and attendance numbers, so moving these games to Crypto.com Arena gives us the opportunity to have more fans in the stands,” Sparks President Christine Monjer said in a statement.
WNBA game sales nearly doubled from last season on StubHub, following a multi-year growth trend.
The Fever have played in nine of the top ten selling games this season on the ticket resale platform.
Addressing the crowd of reporters in attendance for a pre-season press conference, Clark said she was ready to enjoy the moment.
“This is what the league and the players in this league have deserved for a very long time,” Clark said.
The Indiana Fever open their season on the road Wednesday (AEST) against the Connecticut Sun.
Reuters/ABC
