The Caitlin Clark effect was in full swing last season, with record viewership, ticket sales, and merchandise. The effect could be felt in the playoffs, too. According to ESPN, the postseason averaged 1.1 million viewers, up 139 percent from 2023, making it the most-watched WNBA postseason in 25 years. The Finals were also the most-viewed in 25 years, up 115 percent from 2023. But with Caitlin Clark unavailable for this season’s playoffs, the big question is whether her absence will impact the ratings.

Caitlin Clark has only managed to play 13 games this season, sidelined by three different injuries. Her latest groin injury, which kept her out for more than 20 games, has now ruled her out for the rest of the season. And that’s where the real concern comes in regarding the viewership.

Ice Young, in the latest episode of Hoops 360, believes the WNBA will be fine. “I’ll play devil’s advocate. If you were tuning in last year for Caitlin Clark in the playoffs, you only saw two games. If you were going to tune in this year, what did we just talk about? They’d have to steal one game in order to get to the next round. You may only see two games.”

And she isn’t wrong. Last year, the WNBA recorded those record-breaking numbers even though Clark and the Fever played just two games in the playoffs before a first-round exit. This season, the Fever will most likely face the Atlanta Dream in the playoffs, and without Clark, they could be knocked out in the first round again. But will that stop people from tuning in?

As Young highlighted later in the podcast, fans will be tuning in for plenty of reasons. The Valkyries, for one, sold out a record-breaking 22 games in their debut year. People will want to watch the re-energized Las Vegas Aces, aiming for their third championship after winning their last 15 games, led by reigning MVP A’ja Wilson. The Atlanta Dream themselves won 29 games under first-year head coach Karl Smesko(a franchise record). And everyone will be curious to see how last year’s finalists perform. So it wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that the WNBA will be just fine ratings-wise for the playoffs.

On August 21, WNBA officials announced that the league’s 13 teams have drawn a total of 2,501,609 fans over 226 games this season, surpassing the previous record set in 2002 when the league had 16 teams. Back then, it took 256 games to reach the milestone. This number has now crossed 3 million, showing that fans are tuning in not just for Caitlin Clark, but for the overall product as well.

While Caitlin Clark won’t be suiting up in the WNBA this season, there’s a chance we could see her on the court in a different league this offseason.

Caitlin Clark headed to Unrivaled?

Before the 2026 season tips off, Clark won’t really have any official basketball practices to get her rhythm back or build up match fitness. That’s always tricky for a player coming off injuries. Most players spend the offseason either hooping overseas or playing in Unrivaled, but right now, Clark hasn’t committed to anything. That could change real soon, though.

Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, who is also the husband of co-founder and Lynx star Napheesa Collier, dropped a little hint that Caitlin Clark might just end up in Unrivaled down the road. Speaking to Sports Business Journal, Bazzell said: “She’s a great player. So we haven’t really approached those conversations. We aren’t in conversations. Do I think she should play this offseason? Yeah, I do think she should play somewhere. Obviously, we’d love to have her, but that’s a personal decision that her team, her family will go through.”

Unrivaled’s valuation has shot up from $35 million to $340 million in just nine months, and a lot of that comes down to the league pulling in superstar talent. Still, they don’t have some of the biggest names yet. A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Brittney Griner haven’t signed on, which is why they are pushing so hard to get them to join. Especially Clark. Ever since she stepped into the W, viewership has gone through the roof, with the league drawing an all-time record of more than 54 million unique viewers across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, and NBA TV.

Now this doesn’t necessarily mean Clark will suit up in Unrivaled. After all, she reportedly turned down an offer worth $1 million plus equity in the league last year, choosing instead to rest after a grueling college and WNBA season. But, there’s no reason to think she’d make the same choice this year, especially since she knows how important match practice is. But 3-on-3 basketball can be even more intense than the WNBA. Will Clark sit this one out because of that? We’ll find out soon enough.