The WNBA's and Caitlin Clark's Legendary Year

When over 19 million viewers tuned in to watch the Women’s College Basketball final between Caitlin Clark’s Iowa and South Carolina, the largest viewership for any basketball game since 2019, it was inevitable that this season would be the biggest in Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) history. However, it was far bigger than expected, clearly because of the league's newest superstars.

When Clark entered the WNBA in 2024, older fans claimed she would not be as successful as media outlets were predicting; but Clark’s product on the court steadily increased, as she shined above many of her leagues companions.

When Clark got drafted as the first pick, a record-breaking 2.446 million viewers tuned in, a 307 percent increase in viewership from the prior year. Despite this, it's hard to subtract the racist, self-proclaiming fans of Clark’s Fever team from the equation, who fellow WNBA stars have rightfully reprimanded. Like many young sports stars, Clark was thrown into the face of the media before she was ready, facing more attention and micro-managing press than the rest of the league combined. Yet she handled it gracefully, seemingly always saying the right phrase from her back pocket, and spoke out for the causes she believed in. 

After liking Taylor Swift’s endorsement post for Kamala Harris, Clark told People Magazine that she wants to “use her platform” to ensure that people “educate themselves on the candidates we have.” On the contrary, fellow rookie star Angel Reese “refused to get political” when asked about Kamala Harris. 

Though Clark's impact off the court is notable, her on-court performance, winning her rookie of the year on what should have been a unanimous decision, is what should be remembered. Besides breaking 28 records this season, according to ESPN, her breathtaking style of play, which included bossing around legendary defenders of the league, made her the league’s most renowned star. Finishing the year in the league’s first team, Clark’s impact has helped propel women’s sports forward.

Shu Ying Chen, an eleventh grader at Lab, shared how Caitlin Clark was a player who stood out to her: “She has been inspirational because she has been so impactful and has influenced the trajectory of the league. Her impact has made me want to keep improving at basketball.” 

Shu Ying is one of the millions of young women who have been inspired to keep on playing basketball because of the impact of Caitlin. The saying, “if you could see her, you could be her” stuck out throughout writing this article, because Caitlin is allowing all of the league's players to have a bigger platform. 

In the past, there have been plenty of talented players, but this WNBA season was the first year where a women’s sport league got comparable attention from mainstream media in comparison to renowned men’s sporting leagues. Caitlin’s legacy should be headlined by her performance on the court, but her diligence off of the court has made her one of the most well liked female athletes, and will pave the way for generations of young women to compete at the highest level of basketball.

Though the Fever fell in the playoffs to the Connecticut Sun, their core of Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell was quite formidable in 2024. Over the offseason, the Fever brought in 6x WNBA All Star DeWanna Bonner and 3x WNBA Champion Natasha Howard to strength their firepower. Additionally, the Fever added three-point shooting specialist Sophie Cunningham, along with 2x WNBA Champion Sydney Colson. 

The Fever's headline offseason adds depth to a Fever roster that was previously short-handed, and prepares the Fever to compete among the WNBA's best this season. Indiana has played two preseason games so far, winning both, including an incredible homecoming game at Iowa's home arena for Caitlin Clark. They open up the regular season on Saturday May 17th with a matchup between two sides which made big moves during the offseason, against Angel Reese's Chicago Sky at 1pm EST.