Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark Rewrite History Again, This Time at the Expense of Nikola Jokic and Nuggets

The monumental face-off that had fans waiting all season is finally through, with Iowa being on the winning side as predicted. The game was named the rematch of last year’s national championship game as Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark were going after each other for the first time after LSU’s national title win. The game saw tremendous determination in players with the pressure of clinching the spot in the Final Four hanging over their heads. It was this buildup that simply made it a historic encounter with the highest viewership.

In this high-octane contest, Caitlin Clark achieved another career feat by surpassing Taylor Robertson’s record of 537 3-pointers when she shot her 9th beyond the arc during the game. For this extraordinary display, she has been compared with NBA’s Stephen Curry by Luka Doncic, who said, “That’s the women’s Steph Curry. She can shoot it better than me.” Now, as the post-game semantics are coming to the surface, let’s take a look at the recurring record.

Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark breaking the limits

Rising from the ashes of time, history was re-written on Monday’s Elite 8 game between LSU Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes. The game again shattered viewership records, however, not just for women’s basketball this time. Reportedly, the game’s viewership maxed at 12.3 million viewers. The game was the most-watched college basketball game ever on ESPN.

Also, the game drew a viewership more than last year’s World Series, which secured an average of 9.1 million viewers per game. Interestingly, the previous record was held by last year’s championship game in which LSU beat Iowa 102-85 and drew an average of 9.9 million viewers and a peak of 12.6 million on the ABC network.

Besides overcoming the viewership of any women’s basketball game ever, the number of viewers has shockingly surpassed the 2023 NBA Finals, which drew an average of around 11.64 million views per game. Leaving every other professional sports viewership behind, these figures have surpassed the 2023 Orange Bowl which saw the Georgia Bulldogs taking over the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 63-3, and drew around 10.3 million viewers, registering the largest audience for any non-playoff Orange Bowl since 2017. The next comparison on the list is the 2023 Cotton Bowl, drawing 9.7 million viewers.

Notably, the game drew the second-highest audience for any basketball game on ESPN since 2012, except for the 2018 Eastern Conference finals Game 7 between LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics, drawing 13.6 million viewers.

In addition to the 12.3 million viewers for LSU’s Elite 8 face-off with Iowa, 6.7 million viewers watched the Elite 8 matchup between USC and UConn, while 3.1 million watched Oregon State vs. South Carolina, and 2.5 million viewers watched NC State vs. Texas, bringing four out of five highest viewed games ever for the round.

Read More: Caitlin Clark Inspires ‘Women’s Basketball Being More Exciting Than the Men’ Comment From KC Chiefs’ Chris Jones After Iowa Hawkeyes’ Win vs LSU Tigers

Clark’s basketball finesse and Reese’s unapologetic dominance have indeed elevated the level of women’s college basketball that the stats of their games are giving tough competition to the men’s big league, a remarkable achievement in its own right. With that being said, let’s take a look at the significance of the legendary game of the 2023 NBA finals.

The historic NBA victory

The 2023 NBA Finals featured a showdown between the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat and the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets. As a result, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat and grabbed their first-ever NBA championship after 47 seasons.

Moreover, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic delivered an outstanding performance and was named the NBA finals MVP by averaging 30.2 points, 14 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. Moreover, he shot 58.3% from the field and 42.1% beyond the arc.

Jokic’s NBA finals MVP title somehow became ironic as him being the lowest-selected player ever to win it. For the record, he was the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Hence, the victory marked Denver’s first NBA Finals appearance, alongside the second Finals that featured a No. 8 seed, just like it was done in 1999 when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 and won their first NBA championship.

Read More: Angel Reese’s Ejection from Elite 8 Clash vs Caitlin Clark Leaves Animated Kim Mulkey In Disarray