Caitlin Clark: I Don't Feel 'Any Pressure' to Take WNBA 'To Places It's Never Been'
April 17, 2024
Despite having been deemed the face of women's basketball, Caitlin Clark isn't feeling the burden of trying to carry the the WNBA as she prepares for her first season in the league.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Clark explained she doesn't feel "any pressure" to take the WNBA "to places it's never been before" because it's going to happen naturally given the amount of exposure the league has with more games on television than ever before.
Pat McAfee @PatMcAfeeShow"You gotta bring it every single night in the WNBA because it's the best of the best..<br><br>I'm excited and a lot of the players I idolized growing up" ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/CaitlinClark22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CaitlinClark22</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/a3Bmy2MOal">pic.twitter.com/a3Bmy2MOal</a>
It's not an overstatement to say that women's basketball at all levels is more popular than it has ever been.
The women's NCAA title game between Iowa and South Carolina drew a record rating with 18.9 million viewers.
Joe Reedy of the Associated Press noted it was the second most-watched non-Olympic women's sporting event after after the 2015 Women's World Cup Final between the United States and Japan.
ESPN PR @ESPNPR'24 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCAAWBB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NCAAWBB</a> Natl. Championship ended the season with a bang on ABC & ESPN<br><br>🏀18.7M viewers, peak 24M<br>🏀Up 89% from '23 & 285% from '22<br>🏀Most-watched basketball game (men's or women's, college or pro) since '19<br>🏀Most-watched sporting event since '19 (excl. football & Olympics) <a href="https://t.co/0a4uwiOwgp">pic.twitter.com/0a4uwiOwgp</a>
The WNBA has seen an increase in television viewership without Clark in recent years.
Last year's WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty averaged the highest television audience for the finals in 20 years.
There's no doubt the arrival of Clark is going to help boost those numbers even higher. Monday's draft set new viewership records for the WNBA when she was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever.
Clark has certainly been a driving force behind the growing popularity of women's college basketball, but she wasn't the only star player in the draft. Cameron Brink (No. 2 pick), Kamilla Cardoso (No. 3), Angel Reese (No. 6) were superstars at the college level who are also bringing their game to the pros.
When you combine the arrival of these marquee rookies with established stars like A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young and many others, the WNBA is in great hands right now and going forward.
Clark will get to test herself against the best the WNBA has to offer when she begins her career on May 14 when the Fever take on the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena.