The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has propelled WNBA viewership to never-before-seen heights.
The Indiana Fever’s 91-83 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday was the league’s most-watched game in more than two decades, CBS announced Tuesday.
The highly-anticipated matchup averaged 2.25 million viewers, a 225% increase over an average game last season.
Viewership peaked at 3 million households, making the showdown the most highly-viewed game in 23 years.
It was also the most streamed WNBA game ever on Paramount+ across households, minutes and average minute audience.
The Fever’s 91-83 victory over the Sky was the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years
The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has propelled viewership to new heights
Clark and Indiana were once again victorious in their second meeting with the Sky this season, thanks to 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from their rookie sensation.
However, the matchup was overshadowed by an incident in the third quarter, when Reese smacked Clark on the head while the Iowa alum was jumping for the basket.
The ball had already clearly gone beyond the former LSU player, who continued to hit Clark on the head with her forearm.
ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith didn’t take issue with WNBA officials handing Reese a flagrant 1 for her foul against Clark, however he does think league refs have their eye on the Chicago star.
‘I will say this: It was a basketball play,’ Smith said on ESPN’s First Take on Monday.
Reese was whistled for a flagrant foul on Clark during Sunday’s matinee in Indiana
The pair’s rivalry dates back to college, specifically the 2023 women’s NCAA title game
‘Yes, Angel Reese is right about that. But what they called against her in terms of upgrading it to a flagrant 1 is exactly what they would’ve done in the NBA as well… She can be upset about it, but it’s a hit to the head and that’s what they’re doing in this day and age. The call is correct.’
Many commentators have tried to draw comparisons between the Reese-Clark rivalry and Larry Bird’s long-running competition with Magic Johnson during the 1980s.
While both rivalries began in college – the 2023 women’s NCAA title game for Reese-Clark and the 1979 men’s championship for Magic-Bird – before continuing in the pros, Smith thinks the comparison is a slight stretch.
While the Celtics’ Bird and Lakers’ Johnson were similar players, Reese is a gritty power forward and Clark is a sharp-shooting guard and developing distributor.
‘Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ain’t competing with Larry Bird as much as Magic Johnson was going up against Larry Bird,’ Smith said, before offering the New York Liberty’s All-Star guard as a better rivalry for the Fever rookie.
‘If [Sabrina] Ionescu and Caitlin Clark were going at one another, now that’s a rivalry that I’m willing to entertain because their games are similar.’
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