Caitlin Clark's WNBA Playoff Run: Short, Sweet, and Oh-So-Impactful
Source: Caitlin Clark Instagram
Yes, this will be a slight departure from our football coverage, but Caitlin Clark is too big of a star to ignore.
Caitlin Clark’s highly anticipated WNBA playoff debut lasted just two games, but much like Clark herself, it left an outsized impression. The Indiana Fever’s postseason was cut short after an 87-81 loss to the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena, and while the outcome wasn’t much of a surprise—the Sun have been a playoff powerhouse since before Clark even hit college—the Fever’s exit is leaving a buzz that the league will surely feel until next season.
Clark herself put on a show in her final game of the season, racking up 25 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds, making history as the first WNBA rookie to notch at least 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in a playoff game. It’s the kind of debut performance that gets fans excited for more—and it’s the kind of loss that feels more like the start of something than the end.
Indiana Fever: More Than a Cinderella Story
Now, let’s be real: the Fever weren’t exactly favorites going into this series. The Sun have been knocking on the championship door year after year, and most people had the Fever penciled out of the playoffs before Game 1 even tipped off. But that’s where Clark comes in like a human plot twist. Her presence in the series turned what might’ve been a humdrum early-round matchup into must-watch TV.
Game 1 between the Fever and Sun pulled in a whopping 1.8 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game since the year 2000. To put that in perspective, it had more viewers than all three of the other first-round games combined. Caitlin Clark didn’t just bring the heat; she brought the ratings, proving that even a rookie with only two postseason games under her belt can change the viewing landscape.
Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Sure, the WNBA was already on a growth trajectory. Over the last few years, stars like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart have helped boost the league’s profile, and viewership had doubled between 2020 and 2023. But if you think that growth wasn’t turbocharged by the arrival of Caitlin Clark, think again.
Attendance across the league has surged nearly 50% this season, and the Fever led the way with an eye-popping 319% increase in fans filling the seats. Other teams jumped on the bandwagon too, with franchises like the Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas Aces moving games to bigger arenas just to accommodate Clark's fanbase. Even the L.A. Sparks, who only hosted the Fever once and finished dead last in the standings, saw a 69% attendance boost.
Merchandise sales tell a similar story. WNBA sales are up 450%, with Clark’s jersey flying off the shelves as the top seller. She’s not just dominating the WNBA either—she’s ranked fifth in merchandise sales across all sports. Let that sink in for a minute.
What Happens Next?
So, with Clark’s rookie season now officially over, what happens to the WNBA’s rising numbers? Viewership will probably take a dip, but how much of a dip will reveal just how strong Clark’s gravitational pull is on the league.
There’s already some promising news on that front: Game 2 between the Aces and Storm still managed to draw nearly a million viewers, a higher number than any game from last year’s WNBA Finals. Meanwhile, Game 2 of the New York Liberty vs. Dream series pulled in 863,000 viewers, doubling the earlier round's numbers.
Still, the real test will come next season, when Clark and her fellow rookies—plus newcomers like Paige Bueckers from UConn—try to keep the momentum going. Will Caitlin Clark's magic carry into her sophomore year, or was this season’s spike just a rookie-year novelty?
Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure: the WNBA is all the more exciting with Clark in the mix. And if this season was any indication, her ride has only just begun.