ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reminded the WNBA of the reality that came with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
Drafted first overall by the Fever in April, Clark has quickly taken the league by storm. Her performances have led to a noticeable spike in television viewership, ticket sales, jersey sales and more.
On a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Smith highlighted just how dramatic this increase has been, particularly after the Fever were knocked out of the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun on Sept. 25.
Game 1 of that series drew nearly 1.84 million viewers, while Game 2 attracted 2.54 million viewers.
To put it into perspective, Smith compared those numbers to the semifinal matchup between the top-seeded New York Liberty and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Clark’s Game 2 numbers doubled the semifinal.
“Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever now eliminated,” Smith said. “Game 1 of the Aces-Liberty matchup on Sunday drew an average of 929,000 viewers. It’s a good number for the WNBA on an NFL Sunday. However, that was down nearly 50% from last Sunday’s Fever-Sun contest. By the way, not only was viewership down, but attendance was as well.”
Smith is no stranger to discussing Clark’s impact on the league. He’s given her flowers time after time, reminding the WNBA that the increase in its attention is because of her.
That was evident with the major dropoff in viewership once Clark’s Fever were eliminated.
“Do you want me to just say I told you so, or are you willing to say Stephen A. you did tell us?” Smith added. “Really? Caitlin Clark is the golden goose.”
Sports television personality Stephen A. Smith.
Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
In Clark’s rookie season, she won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, finished fourth in the MVP voting, broke the single-season assist record and more.
Despite Clark’s impressive awards, records and the attention she’s brought, some critics have downplayed her greatness. Smith made sure to shine a light on that as well.
“And there are very, very few people, but there are some out there who resent the fact that this young white girl came out there and did her thing,” Smith stated. “Rookie of the year, fourth in the league for MVP voting, assist leader, one of the top leading scorers after the Olympic Games. She put on a show validating all the attention she was receiving.”
Smith went on to say that if these individuals who were downplaying her embraced her instead, the WNBA would capture more attention around the world.
He also gave his two cents on Clark being left off the Team USA basketball team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“If folks were more receptive to it, even more moments would have arrived,” added Smith. “I still contend Caitlin Clark should have been on Team USA. Imagine the international, the global audience that would have followed her. But folks missed it because of feelings, not business.”
Clark’s 2024 campaign included averages of 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game.
Fans will have to wait until next April to see Clark back on the court. In the meantime, they can catch both Game 3s of the WNBA semifinals on Friday night, featuring the Lynx vs. Sun and the Liberty vs. Aces.
