The Magic-Bird of WNBA. That is how many are showcasing the rivalry of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. And why not? These two were indeed the MVPs of popularity this season! The rookies have taken the WNBA by storm in every aspect. They’re pulling in massive crowds, skyrocketing TV ratings, and boosting engagement across every social platform. Although the spotlight is often on just CC, the Atlanta Dream’s co-owner Renee Montgomery credits Chi-Town Barbie as much as the 2024 ROTY. 

Renee appeared in ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ on October 30 where she had to face the obvious question. “Was there a Caitlin Clark effect? Was it truly real uh bottom line and..obviously there were many talented rookies that came in this year year but I’ll I’ll just throw her name out in particular since that’s one that obviously is on a lot of people’s minds,” Eisen said on the show. Renee didn’t hold back, admitting it indeed was but right alongside Angel Reese.

“I think there’s a real effect there. I think that this draft class led by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese there’s there’s a real demand, there’s a real following there, there are fans that are online and there’s also fans that are following and at the games and wearing jerseys and there is a real connect there,” Renee said.

For her, it’s clear that both rookies have changed the WNBA forever. And she also has a notable point to underscore how that happened. According to Renee, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have been successful in bringing their fans from the collegiate level to the WNBA. That is where their success lies. 

“With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese I’ve just seen that that carryover has happened, not just their LSU fans but the fans that are interested in the college drama, the college matchups, the College everything, those same fans are excited and interested in these WNBA matchups. That’s what’s new you know, we’ve always had a fan base when it came to women’s college basketball. It’s just it wasn’t carrying over. It is now,” Renee explained. The stats do support her comments.

This season has been nothing short of historic for the WNBA. According to ESPN, this year’s Finals raked in an average of 1.6 million viewers, up a whopping 115% from last season. Also, the entire postseason averaged 1.1 million viewers, a 139% increase from 2023.

Talking about the newbies, their regular-season matchup on June 23 drew 2.3 million viewers as Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky narrowly beat Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever 88-87. We also witnessed the WNBA Draft hit an average of 2.4 million viewers—up 328% from the year before. Before 2024, the most-watched WNBA Draft was in 2004, when Diana Taurasi entered the league. That draft drew 600,000 viewers.

Alongside, Fever’s attendance went from near the bottom of the league last year to leading with an average of over 17,000 fans per game. For comparison, in 2022, their average attendance was just 1,776 per game. Now, do you want more proof of why it is not Clark alone, but her rivalry with Reese has been instrumental? Take a look at this.

This season, six WNBA networks set ratings records.

• ESPN: Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky, 2.3 million
• CBS: Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever, 2.25 million
• ABC: Seattle Storm-Indiana Fever, 2.2 million
• ESPN2: Indiana Fever-Connecticut Sun, 2.1 million
• Ion: Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky, 1.6 million
• NBA TV: Las Vegas Aces-Indiana Fever, 678K

If you did not spot it, let’s point out that half of the games involved Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. That is not a mere coincidence. In fact, this record spree started back in their college days.

In the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, Iowa’s rematch against Reese and LSU shattered the viewership record set by last year’s meeting in the NCAA championship game. With 12.3 million viewers, it was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. It is of little or no wonder that Magic Johnson himself compared the Reese-Clark rivalry to the one between him and Larry Bird.

“Larry and I heightened the NBA’s overall popularity. The Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and increased television viewership exponentially. The higher viewership numbers led to the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts which then led to higher salaries for the players. Caitlin and Angel are now doing the same thing, selling out arenas and increasing the viewership,” Magic had written on X.

“They have taken women’s basketball by storm and with expiring TV deals on the horizon. the WNBA is now in a position to negotiate higher TV contracts and increase salaries for all of the talented players,” he had further added. We can not agree more.

In the 1970s, the NBA was suffering. The playoff games were on tape-delay and many of the league’s teams were in debt. The 1979-80 NBA season saw Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entering the scene with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, respectively. And the NBA changed forever. In 1979, Magic vs. Bird set a record with 35 million viewers. If this is not enough, just hear what Byron Scott had to say.

On his podcast The Byron Scott Show, Scott stated, “Those two guys -Magic Johnson and Larry Bird- saved the NBA. Really saved the NBA from really going under because at that particular point, it was only maybe 4 teams that were making money out of maybe 22–24 teams in the league. And these two guys came along and they just kinda save the NBA.” This is something that the Clark-Reese duo is still left to achieve. After everything and even Montgomery admitting that the new players have brought attention, the WNBA is still in financial woes.

WNBA is still not out of the red zone

For all their rookie magic, the duo couldn’t completely fix the league’s $40 million loss this year. The losses weigh heavily on the WNBA owners, leaving doubts about the league despite record numbers and new fans filling arenas. Reports suggest the owners are growing frustrated over the number. But it still is an improvement from $50 million loss estimated earlier this year. 

“We’re working with WNBA owners, WNBA owners that also own NBA teams, and then more broadly the NBA owners on what the right valuation of WNBA teams are going forward, what the best way is to operate that league,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed. The W has been running at loss for years and the owners are demanding transparency on the timeline of their returns. There is no answer for that just yet, but the league is definitely working towards a change.

Apart from the expansion, the league has also singed media deals worth about $2 billion across 11 years. This could mean $260 million per annum -6x increase from their current contract. Moreover, the players have also rallied for better financial model with a larger revenue share, refusing collective bargaining agreement (CBA). “The players decided to opt out of the last CBA to realign the business and save the league from its own limitations,” WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson explained.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is hopeful, though, saying, “With the historic 2024 WNBA season now in the books, we look forward to working together with the players and the WNBPA on a new CBA that is fair for all and lays the foundation for growth and success for years to come.” 

All in all, between Reese, Clark, and the booming fanbase, the WNBA has a golden opportunity here. Could the CBA be the game-changer?