Bill Simmons Rips WNBA Over Costly Decisions Following Caitlin Clark Boom
Simmons called out the league's failure to capitalize on Caitlin Clark's impact.
The 2024 WNBA Finals tipped off on Thursday night with a Game 1 matchup between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty.
These two WNBA powerhouses faced off in an instant classic. Napheesa Collier and the visiting Lynx ultimately came out on top, taking down Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty with a 95-93 final score in overtime.
Unfortunately, the opening game of this championship series likely didn’t have the TV viewership numbers that it deserved.
Game 1 tipped off at 8 p.m. ET, just 15 minutes prior to kickoff of a Thursday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
Game 2 will tipoff at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, right in the middle of the NFL’s packed Week 6 slate.
The WNBA is facing backlash over these scheduling decisions. During the most recent episode of his podcast, veteran sports broadcaster Bill Simmons took aim at the league for failing to capitalize on what he called the “Caitlin Boom.”
No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark helped shatter WNBA TV viewership records at every turn throughout her Rookie of the Year campaign with the Indiana Fever. As such, excitement for the WNBA is at an all-time high.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates with Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) during the second half against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center.
© Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
“The WNBA had this amazing moment this season to get as many eyeballs as possible on their most important games, and stuck to the schedule that they did 15 years ago… And completely blew it,” Simmons said. “I actually wanted to watch those games and there’s no way I’m watching anything other than football on a Sunday.
“This isn’t rocket science,” he continued. “Friday night’s gonna be your awesome night. Put something great on that. Wednesday night is another awesome one, you’re not going against anything… You have a chance to blow this league out and make it really a pretty mainstream league. It’s not going to happen going against the NFL.”
Game 3 of the WNBA Finals is the first game without any NFL competition. That championship-series contest will tipoff at 8 p.m. ET this coming Wednesday.
