Breanna Stewart vs A?ja Wilson: Will 2023 WNBA Finals Amass Largest Viewership in League History?

The WNBA’s viewership has increased by 27 percent over last year. It’s no surprise that the USA has a new prime-time game during the NBA’s off-season. When twelve teams work tirelessly to improve the game’s standard, we built the rivalry on the two MVPs casting a stellar power nexus in scoring each other to be the prime factor determining the viewership. The expansion of the media horizon of 2023’s WNBA season is something that the franchise has never witnessed in 27 years of history. The rate of increase in viewership gives the franchise the economy it always desired.

All due to the top two seeds’ MVPs competing for the trophies. This has resulted in a trend of player-based viewing comparable to NBA stars. Since supporters want these two to represent the team more than the squad as a whole, it is clear that the WNBA has begun its trek to glory.

A steady rise in stellar viewership

ESPN took the opportunity to highlight the WNBA’s consistent climb in viewership by posting a slew of statistics on their official Twitter handle. According to them, the 2021-2022 Finals between the reigning champions, the Las Vegas Aces, and the No. 3 seed at the time, the Connecticut Suns, remain the most watched game with a viewership of 548.000 average viewers and the most watched finals since 2017.

With an average of 367,000 viewers, it is also the most-watched post-season game since 2014. The fourth game (October 17) got 417,000 viewers, whereas the third game (October 15) drew 524,000. The 2023 season finals have increased by 18 percentage points from the previous year.

Because of the dramatic battle between A’ja Wilson of the Aces and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, A’ja was voted DPOY of the year, while Breanna was named the most sought-after MVP of the year.

A’ja, the two-time MVP, was the most anticipated MVP contender, but the award eventually went to Breanna by a razor-thin margin. The fans went nuts as these two met in the final bout. As a consequence, the average viewing reached 555,000, with a peak of 872,000. Up 18% from the first game of the WNBA Finals in 21.

Read More: A?ja Wilson and Co. Make WNBA History With 91 Points, Leaving MVP Breanna Stewart Blown by the Storm in Finals

This season, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart carried their squad on their shoulders. Through the course of the season, they both showed a dominant skill as they faced the monstrous scoring machine inside of them.

A’ja Wilson vs. Breanna Stewart in a titanic trophy battle

Aja has 2.23 blocks per game, which is a career high. With 7.5 defensive boards per game and 1.4 steals per game. She had at least four blocks in nine of the regular season’s contests. She had at least three steals in 10 of her games.

Breanna Stewart bagged her second MVP with Liberty with a career-high 45 points and averaged 30 points in seven games. With individual accolades brimming on their resumes now, these two MVPs are keen to add the trophy to finish the quest they started this season. And it is no wonder that they will smash the viewership record that existed in previous years.

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