From TV ratings to social media engagement to attendance, Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark has changed the outlook of the WNBA not just this season, but likely for decades to come. With her first professional regular season in the books as of Thursday, let’s take a look at a dozen key numbers that highlight her impact both on and off the court.
17,035 – The average number of fans attending Fever home games this season, which is an all-time WNBA record for any team.
The league’s attendance data this season is the best example you’ll ever see of the phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats.” While the Fever took a monumental leap, up from the WNBA’s second-worst 4,067 fans per home game in 2023, every single team’s attendance improved in 2024. Overall, average league-wide attendance was the highest it has been since 1999.
Much of that is thanks to Clark, whose popularity pushed teams to move Fever road games to arenas with larger capacities. The Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream all hosted the Fever in NBA arenas as opposed to their usual, smaller venues. Indiana’s away games in Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas each surpassed 20,000 spectators, becoming just the fifth and sixth games in league history to do so.
20,711 – The number of fans at Washington’s Capital One Arena for the final Fever game of the regular season on Sept. 19—a WNBA single-game record.
21 – The number of broadcasts this season featuring Clark that drew more than 1 million viewers. That includes 19 regular-season games along with the WNBA Draft and All-Star Game. An additional three games between two teams that were not the Fever hit seven-figures, giving the league a total of 24 for the season. That’s a remarkable number considering that prior to this season, no WNBA telecast had reached 1 million since 2008.
WNBA ratings on ESPN were up 170% over last season, according to Disney. ESPN was one of six different networks that set records for their most-watched WNBA game ever this season, including ESPN2, ABC, Ion, CBS and NBA TV. All six of those games featured Clark.
1-8 – The Fever’s record in the first nine games of the season. Indiana turned things around, however, and finished 20-20 to clinch a playoff berth.
Entering this season, the Fever had by far the WNBA’s longest playoff drought, having missed seven consecutive postseasons. In fact, that streak was tied with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators for the 10th-longest drought across the five major U.S. men’s leagues plus WNBA and NWSL.
Clark’s potential to elevate the franchise was reflected in Sportico’s WNBA valuations published in June. Indiana’s $90 million valuation placed it in the top half of the league despite its 2023 revenue ranking second-to-last.
23.1 – Clark’s points per game since the Olympics break.
The Fever rebounded from a slow start to the 2024 season in large part because Clark stepped up her game. The rookie phenom was controversially left off the U.S. Olympic team, which won a gold medal in Paris, but that decision may have played to her benefit and given the Fever time to jell. After averaging only 17.1 points per game prior to the Games, Clark returned from the league’s month off and posted a points per game mark that would rank second behind only A’ja Wilson over the full season.
769 – Clark’s points this season, which are a WNBA rookie record.
122 – Clark’s three-pointers made this season, which are the second-most in WNBA history.
337 – Clark’s assists this season, which are a WNBA record.
Clark’s cumulative statistics aren’t inflated by a recent offensive explosion like the one seen in the NBA—WNBA scoring is relatively flat over the past decade—but she does benefit from an increase in the number of games, with the league going from 34 before the pandemic to 40 beginning in 2023. Her 8.4 assists per game still ranks fifth all-time, behind four campaigns from Courtney Vandersloot.
It should be noted that Clark also set the WNBA record for single-season turnovers, and the 10 she had in her debut was just one shy of the single-game record. The Fever’s team turnover rate, however, has not significantly increased since last season, indicating that Clark’s passing is still a net positive.
19 – The WNBA single-game record for assists, accomplished by Clark against the Dallas Wings on July 17.
5 – The number of games in which Clark has scored at least 25 points and dished at least 10 assists. That’s already tied with Sabrina Ionescu for the most such games in an entire career—and Clark has played just 40 games.
2 – The number of triple-doubles Clark recorded in her rookie year. There have been just 41 triple-doubles in WNBA history, and only eight players have had multiple in a career—a list led by Alyssa Thomas with 14, followed by Ionescu with four. Clark’s statline of 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds on July 7 was the first of its kind posted by a WNBA rookie.
6 – Clark’s technical fouls this season, which are one short of the seven that automatically trigger a one-game suspension. She nearly picked up her seventh for arguing a call in Indiana’s penultimate regular-season game, but her teammates helped to deescalate the situation and keep Clark from leading the league in a less desirable statistical category. Technical fouls reset at the start of the postseason, though, so she will enter her first playoffs with a clean slate.
$93.95 – The cheapest price, including fees, on Ticketmaster for Game 1 of the Connecticut Sun’s playoff run on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the day that Connecticut strategically shared on social media that Indiana was its most likely first-round opponent, with a probability of 56.8%. The Sun have now secured a first round meeting with the Fever and hope to further capitalize off the Clark effect.