The WNBA has been getting a whole lot of attention lately and Caitlin Clark is the one who has gotten a lot of the credit for that. Angel Reese, however, felt that Clark wasn’t the only reason for the growth in popularity and that she and others deserved a lot of credit too. Attendance numbers for WNBA games that Clark played and didn’t play in might suggest otherwise, though.
(via Jimmy Traina, SI Now)
Attendance at non-Caitlin Clark WNBA games this past weekend:
7,638
4,015
9,878
7,035
3,265
10,207
7,024
Attendance at Caitlin Clark WNBA games this past weekend:
17,274
17,401
In case you missed it, here is what Reese had to say:
“The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of 1 person. It’s because of me, too. I want y’all to realize that.”
Angel Reese believes the physical play that Caitlin Clark has experienced isn't new to the WNBA
Just more 👀
"The reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of 1 person. It's because of me, too. I want y'all to realize that"
More: https://t.co/3fNUxipTTD pic.twitter.com/1YbGG4mWuL
— GNSportsTV (@GNSportsTV) June 3, 2024
Even without these attendance numbers, this just wasn’t a good look on Reese. She has claimed on numerous occasions that she has a lot of respect for Clark, but her actions continue to give the impression that she does not.
Reese was applauding her teammate Chennedy Carter for taking a cheap shot at Clark when the Chicago Sky played the Indiana Fever earlier this month. The 22-year-old was hammered on social media for that and these comments have only made matters worse. Reese has just made it very easy for people to believe that there is a fair bit of jealousy and envy involved here.
I believe it would be unfair to say that Clark is the only reason for the surge in popularity, but there is no denying she had a bigger role to play in it than anyone else. There was so much hype surrounding her, following that incredible college career at Iowa and it led to Clark getting an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike.
The craze hasn’t died down even with her struggling a bit in the WNBA. Clark is averaging 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game for the Fever as a rookie. The 22-year-old is only shooting 35.7% from the field and 29.7% from beyond the arc, though, and is also averaging 5.4 turnovers per game.
As for Reese, she is averaging 10.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for the Sky. She has been inefficient like Clark too, shooting just 35.3% from the field. Both of them just need more time to get to grips with the WNBA game and once they’re fully settled in, I’d expect them to play at a very high level.
The Caitlin Clark Effect
We touched on those attendance numbers earlier and a deeper look shows the incredible impact that Clark has had. According to Across the Timeline, the Fever ranked 11th in the WNBA in average attendance last season at 4,066. This season, they are at the top with an average attendance of 16,571.
That’s an increase of over 12,000 and unsurprisingly, no other team had that kind of a jump. A sellout at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Fever games comes to 17,274, so we’re talking about an average attendance percentage of 95.9%, which is impressive.
The Sky, meanwhile, went from 7,241 to 8,247 at Wintrust Arena, which has a sellout of 9,025 for the team. I am sure Reese had a part to play in that, but she isn’t drawing in as many fans as Clark is.
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