BREAKING:Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese becomes the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years

The WNBA has never had more viewers than it does now thanks to the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

The league’s most viewed game in over 20 years was the Indiana Fever’s 91-83 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, according to a CBS announcement on Tuesday.

Compared to an average game last season, the highly anticipated duel drew 2.25 million viewers, a 225% increase.

The matchup was the most watched game in 23 years, with a peak viewership of 3 million households.

In terms of households, minutes, and average minute audience, it was also the most streamed WNBA game ever onParamount+.

Thanks to 23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds from their rookie sensation, Clark and Indiana defeated the Sky once more in their second meeting of the season.

 

But in the third quarter, Reese hit Clark in the head as the former Iowa star was leaping for a score, casting a shadow over the contest.

It was obvious that the ball had already passed the former LSU player, who kept hitting Clark in the head with her forearm.

Although ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith didn’t object to Reese receiving a flagrant 1 from WNBA referees for her foul against Clark, he believes league officials are keeping a close eye on the Chicago star.

“I will state this: It was a basketball play,” Smith declared on Monday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take.

Angel Reese is correct in saying that. That being said, they would have done the same in the NBA if they had called for her to have it upgraded to a flagrant 1. She can be angry about it, but in this day and age, that’s what they’re doing—a blow to the head. It’s the right call.

Numerous analysts have attempted to make parallels between the Larry Bird rivalry with Magic Johnson in the 1980s and the Reese-Clark rivalry.

Smith believes the connection is a bit much, even though both rivalry started in college and continued in the pros—the men’s championship for Magic-Bird in 1979 and the women’s NCAA title game for Reese-Clark in 2023.

Reese is a rugged power forward, and Clark is a sharpshooting guard and growing distributor; yet, Bird of the Celtics and Johnson of the Lakers were similar players.

Smith added, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ain’t competing with Larry Bird as much as Magic Johnson was going up against Larry Bird,” before suggesting that the rookie for the Miami Heat should compete against the All-Star guard for the New York Liberty.

“I’d be willing to entertain a rivalry between [Sabrina] Ionescu and Caitlin Clark because their games are similar.”