In her first professional season, Caitlin Clark helped the WNBA women’s league boom. The 22-year-old enchants the masses – as well as NBA stars.
The flight back from Connecticut was certainly not a pleasant one for Caitlin Clark. Previously, an 81:67 loss at the Suns last week sealed the end of their rookie season with the Indiana Fever in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA). And yet the departure by charter plane instead of a scheduled flight marked a milestone in women’s basketball. Because what has long been common practice in other professional leagues, especially for men, the most direct and therefore shortest journey to away games, only became the standard across the board in the 28th WNBA season. And that has to do not exclusively, but to a large extent, with Clark.
The 22-year-old from Des Moines was already a celebrity before her WNBA debut. For the University of Iowa, she shattered record after record in the college league, setting a new season high in points (191) for men and women. Wherever Clark appeared, the crowds were soon watching: the average attendance in Iowa rose by over 300 percent to 17,000 in her final season. The NCAA final defeat was watched by an average of 18.9 million fans on television, the best rating for a basketball game in the past five years – NBA included. Although it was clear that the Indiana Fever would secure the top talent as number one in the draft, up to three million people tuned in, five times as many as the previous record.
Orange carpet appearance before the All-Star Game. Reuters/Joe Camporeale
