The rematch between Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky brought the WNBA an audience the league hasn’t seen in 23 years. CBS Sports described the ratings for the latest installment in the rivalry as “record viewership”.
The Fever’s 91-83 victory averaged 2.252 million viewers – at one point peaking to just under 3 million viewers – and represents a 225% increase over a comparable timeslot from last season.
The last time the WNBA saw such numbers? It was before either Reese or Clark were born – involving a matchup on Memorial Day 2001 between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Houston Comets.
That game earned an average of 2.44 million viewers according to Sports Media Watch.
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The Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese Rivalry Is Ratings Gold
The rivalry between these two ladies is seemingly heating up. During their first matchup, Sky role player Chennedy Carter delivered a hip-check to Clark off the ball, prompting Reese to wildly cheer on her efforts on the sideline.
Reese also hit Caitlin Clark with her own elbow shot during that game which sent the Fever guard to the hardwood.
Naturally, fans were curious about what was going to happen next. And the ratings show that people are intrigued by the hero-villain dynamic that the two players provide.
Clark played basketball during the second matchup while Reese lived down to expectations, blasting her opponent in the head at one point with a flagrant foul.
Try Downplaying The Animosity
While both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese attempted to downplay the ugly incident, the Chicago Sky rookie kept egging on the situation by saying her blatant foul was evidence that her hardwood foe “got a special whistle.”
She consistently tries to play herself off as a victim in the matchups while insisting she is equally the reason people are watching women’s basketball these days.
“I know I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years and be like: ‘Yeah, the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball isn’t just because of one person. It’s because of me, too,’” she said.
“And I want you to realize that.”
If anything though, Reese is the Joker to Clark’s Batman. The Caitlin Clark effect is still in full swing when it comes to the ratings. She has participated in five of the six most-watched WNBA games on TV this season.
The rivalry thus far has been pretty one-sided. Clark and the Fever are 2-0 against the Sky. In this latest matchup, Clark scored 23 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists.
Reese, by comparison, came up well short with just 11 points on 4-13 shooting.
Caitlin Clark = ratings. Watching her beat Angel Reese amplifies them.
The next meeting between the two will take place on June 23rd in Chicago.
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