Caitlin Clark’s second WNBA season hasn’t officially started yet, but she’s already breaking records.
After sitting out the Indiana Fever’s Saturday preseason game as a precaution due to leg tightness, Clark returned to action Sunday-on very familiar ground. Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, the same court where she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history, was packed once again to see her take the floor, this time as a pro.
The opponent? The Brazilian National Team. The result? A 108-44 Fever rout. Clark delivered a sharp 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists in just 16 minutes. But the real story wasn’t the scoreboard-it was who was watching.
Caitlin Clark’s return to Iowa sets WNBA viewership record
On Tuesday, ESPN dropped a surprising number: 1.3 million viewers tuned in to the preseason broadcast. That makes it the most-watched WNBA preseason game of all time, and even more impressively, it outdrew all but two NBA preseason games since 2010.
The broadcast peaked at 1.6 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch, continuing a now-familiar trend: when Clark plays, fans show up. It was the 34th WNBA broadcast in the last year to top 1 million viewers-and Clark featured in 26 of them (Front Office Sports).
This was more than a welcome-back game. It was a moment. For Clark, it marked a return to her roots. For the league, it was another sign that the surge in interest around women’s basketball isn’t fading-it’s growing.
“The energy around her is different,” said ESPN analyst Andraya Carter. “She doesn’t just bring attention-she keeps it.”
The Fever close out the preseason this Saturday against the Atlanta Dream. Then, the real test begins: Clark and Indiana tip off the regular season on May 17 against the Chicago Sky.
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