Eyes have followed Caitlin Clark everywhere during her WNBA rookie season and Phoenix will be her next stop.
Many arenas have been treated to Clark’s tour de force in the WNBA with broken attendance records and overall excitement. But the Phoenix Mercury had yet to cash in on the benefits through 17 games.
Now, Clark and the Indiana Fever will make their anticipated arrival for a noon game at Footprint Center on Sunday.
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The game will be nationally televised on ESPN, showcasing Caitlin in a marquee matchup against WNBA legend Diana Taurasi and star teammates Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper. Tickets still were available as of early Saturday afternoon, with the lowest prices in the upper level going for $59 on Ticketmaster.
All three of those Mercury stars have been named to Team USA for the Paris Olympics. Clark notably was bypassed, a decision that has drawn widespread criticism.
That isn’t expected to detract from the energy at Footprint Center on Sunday.
“The crowd Sunday will have a certain feel to it, but I’ve just been absolutely amazed by our crowds through the first eight games at home,” head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “They’ll be a different vibe on Sunday, but what the Phoenix people have done, come out and support us, has been absolutely amazing.”
The Mercury (9-8, 6th overall in league standings) had 14,363 fans and the seventh sellout this season for Friday’s 92-78 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Over four seasons, the Mercury have been in the top two in the league’s average attendance.
But this season has been different due to Clark’s impact. The Fever (7-12, 9th overall) have skyrocketed from the second-worst attendance to the best with an average of 16,757. The Fever eclipsed combined home attendance totals from the past two seasons in just their first seven home games of 2024.
Stemming from her record-breaking days at Iowa, crowds have flocked to see Clark in Big Ten arenas and beyond. In 2023, the Clark-led Iowa team played an exhibition game in front of 55,646 fans at Kinnick Stadium. It was the first women’s basketball game to be played outdoors in a football stadium and set the NCAA single-game record for attendance in women’s basketball.
Television ratings also have seen a huge boost. The league announced earlier this month WNBA games are averaging 1.32 million viewers, nearly tripling last season’s average of 462,000, driven by the addition of not only Clark, but other rookie stars such as Angel Reese (Chicago Sky) and Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks).
Caitlin Clark’s star power began at Iowa and continues in the WNBA
But without question, Clark has been the story of the 2024 WNBA season. So what makes her stand out?
Clark is coming off a historic senior season, where she surpassed “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s 54-year-old Division I college basketball scoring record of 3,667 points in March. She became the first D-I player to top 3,000 points, 1,000 assists and 800 rebounds.
The excitement surrounding her playing style comes from her ability to shoot 3-pointers from the logo, something not typically seen in the women’s game.
She also led Iowa to contention for the national championship. Clark fell short of winning the NCAA women’s D-I title game in the last two seasons, but was easily one of the most talked about players from those two games, driving television ratings. In her four seasons at Iowa, Clark never lost three consecutive games.
So far during her rookie season, Clark is averaging 16.2 points a game, tied with guard Kelsey Mitchell for the Fever team lead. She also is averaging 5.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals. the latter two stats lead the team.
On Sunday, she will face two of the top players, and most well-known, in the WNBA.
Phoenix has had a history of not only welcoming the best players from college but being the landing spot for them. Diana Taurasi (2004) and Brittney Griner (2013) were No. 1 overall picks.
Taurasi dazzled from winning three consecutive championships at UConn, while Griner was known for her high-flying dunks at Baylor. Both garnered significant national attention in their respective college careers and rookie seasons, but it’s a different time for the WNBA and women’s sports, which are both now seeing increased interest.
Clark’s Final Four victory over UConn in April averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast.
One thing that was said after that game still lingers for basketball fans.
During her broadcast of the Final Four, Taurasi warned Clark about her first season in the WNBA.
“Look, SVP, reality is coming,” Taurasi told SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt about Clark. “There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to (be playing against) some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”
Taurasi added that Clark will have a transition period and should give herself grace, but she’ll also get better from this experience. Taurasi received backlash for her comments, but the physicality of the WNBA compared to college has been a transition period for Clark’s game. Clark averages 16.2 points per game and is 16th in the league in scoring. She leads the league in turnovers with 106.
Careful not to stir more controversy, Taurasi artfully answered the question about facing Clark with a four-word answer during Wednesday’s practice.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” she said.
Fun is one way to describe the pandemonium that will fill Footprint Center regardless of the score.
