The WNBA has just set a new benchmark for itself. Riding the momentum it built last year, the league is in the midst of a massive upward surge. The 2024 season was its most-watched regular season in 24 years, drew the highest attendance in 22 years, and set records in digital engagement and merchandise sales. At the heart of that rise was the Caitlin Clark effect, sparking unprecedented interest.

Now, even with the 2025 season still underway, the WNBA has already surpassed those milestones. But here’s the twist: the Indiana Fever and Clark are not driving this surge. Weird, isn’t it? To make things more surprising, the spotlight has shifted to a first-year expansion team that has outshone a franchise that’s been part of the league for 25 years.

The WNBA has set a new all-time attendance record, drawing 2.5 million fans as of August 20, 2025. This shattered the previous mark set in 2002. Leading this surge is none other than the Golden State Valkyries. In their debut year, the Valkyries have been the league’s hottest ticket. They have sold out every home game at Chase Center, a venue fans have nicknamed Ballhalla. From the moment the franchise was announced, San Francisco embraced the team. More than 2,000 season ticket deposits were placed within hours.

The Valkyries wasted no time rewriting the record books. They became the first WNBA franchise to sell out all their home games, the biggest crowd in any WNBA team’s first-ever game, and the first to reach 10,000 season ticket sales. Not even Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, last season’s attendance darlings, reached that milestone. Still, the CC effect remains strong.

The Fever continues to be a massive draw, leading the league in total attendance at 577,979 across home and road games. But when it comes to home-court numbers, Golden State edges them out. 307K compared to Indiana’s 301K, a gap largely explained by Clark’s recent injury.

The real winner, however, is the league itself. The WNBA is averaging more than 11,000 fans per game and is on pace to finish with nearly 3.15 million attendees, up almost one-third from last year. The New York Liberty has already surpassed its 2024 totals, adding to the league’s boom. The Valkyries, still in their first season, may break even more records before the year ends.

Are the Golden State Valkyries new WNBA sweethearts over Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever?

The 2024 WNBA season marked Caitlin Clark’s breakout year. Her dominant rookie run fueled a surge in attendance across the league. The WNBA recorded 154 sellouts in 2024, a staggering 242 percent increase from just 45 the year before.  And the biggest game of the 2024 season? No surprise it was the Indiana Fever once again. Their matchup against the Washington Mystics on September 19 at Capital One Arena drew 20,711 fans, setting a new single-game attendance record.

The Fever wasn’t done there. They delivered two more massive crowds in 2024, helping produce three games that topped 20,000 fans. Those included 20,366 for Indiana vs Las Vegas on July 2 and 20,333 for Indiana vs Washington on June 7. By season’s end, Indiana’s home attendance reached 340K fans, the highest single-season total in WNBA history. But in 2025, the Golden State Valkyries are on pace to rewrite that record. The expansion team has already drawn 307K fans at home, with five home games still left on the schedule. If the sellout streak continues, they could finish with 397,000 fans, a new all-time high.

The energy in the stands has matched the Valkyries’ play on the court. They’ve won 10 of their 17 home games, powering themselves to seventh place in the standings, just behind Caitlin Clark’s Fever. That keeps them firmly in the playoff race. If they reach the postseason, Golden State would become the first franchise in league history to do so in its debut year. With history within reach and Ballhalla roaring behind them, the Valkyries might just pull it off.