The Indiana Fever continue to remain one of the biggest attractions for the WNBA. Fever are the only team in the league this season to have all 44 of their regular-season games on national TV. And their recent game on Sunday, when the Fever took on the Atlanta Dream, surpassed another record by becoming the most-watched WNBA game in cable television history.

The game averaged 2.6 million viewers on ESPN, and viewership peaked at around 4 million as the game went into overtime. The average audience jump was a staggering 178% compared to ESPN’s WNBA regular-season average last year. WNBA reporter Scott Agness also reported the same in his X post.

“ESPN is on a run of airing Fever games, and it’s been a huge success. Sunday’s game in Atlanta became the third game in the last two weeks to average more than 2.5 million views (2.6), and it peaked at 4 million. It’s the network’s most-watched game ever. (Others were on ABC).”

This makes this game the most-watched WNBA game ever on cable, considering both the regular season and playoffs. 

Analysts are pointing to the Caitlin Clark effect in full effect, as this is the third Fever game in the last two weeks to average more than 2.5 million views on ESPN. The Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry certainly helped boost the viewership of this particular matchup.

The hype was building long before the game even started. The WNBA Countdown averaged 452,000 viewers on ESPN, up 33 percent as compared to ESPN’s last year regular season average.

Previously, Fever’s game against the New York Liberty averaged 2 million viewers on ESPN, which was the third-most-watched regular-season WNBA game ever on cable at the time. 

The game itself saw no shortage of action, as Atlanta missed three chances near the end of the game to get the win. They also gave away 15 costly turnovers, with Reese herself contributing four of them. It was a night to forget for Reese, who recorded only 31.3% shooting from the field, converting only 5 of her 16 shots.

Caitlin Clark scored 26 points while adding nine assists. Kelsey Mitchell continued her streak of scoring 20 or more points, this being her 19th. 

The Fever and Dream are locked in an intense battle for a top-four spot, which will get either side the home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark continues to be the main attraction for the WNBA

‘Caitlin Clark effect’ is here to stay. The Fever guard has become a magnet for both the Indiana Fever and the WNBA. Clark’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that since 2000, the 12 most-viewed WNBA games have occurred in the past three seasons, per SportsmediaWatch, and each one of them has featured Caitlin Clark.

This includes nine Fever games, her two appearances in the All-Star Game and the 2024 WNBA Draft, in which she was selected as the first overall pick. This season, the eight most-watched WNBA games all involve the Fever, as per CBC. 

Clark’s personal popularity transcends the WNBA, cementing her status as a global icon rather than just a basketball star. Her  #22 jersey with the Indiana Fever is the second-best-selling basketball jersey in the entire United States, trailing only Stephen Curry while outselling global NBA icons like LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and Victor Wembanyama, per Outkick.

Not only that, but opposing teams consistently pack their arenas or move games to larger venues to accommodate the massive traveling crowds turning up for Fever games. This has led to the popular saying among Indiana fans that “Every game is a home game.”

In fact, even a single moment from a game featuring Clark has shown the potential to go viral. Proof of that came in the Indiana Fever’s latest game against the Atlanta Dream, when Clark reacted to her rival Angel Reese missing a potentially game-winning layup with just seconds left on the clock.

With the Fever and the Dream tied at 81-81, Reese missed a crucial rebound after Rhyne Howard missed her three-pointer attempt. The miss sent the game into overtime, where Indiana won the game 95-91. However, as Clark walked back to her bench before overtime commenced, she smirked at Reese, who had her back to Clark.

As the camera was pointed at Reese as her Dream teammates consoled her, Clark’s smirk behind the Dream forward’s back became an instant meme and one of the highlights of the game that even analysts talked about it.

So it’s safe to say that Caitlin Clark will be at the helm of more record-breaking games as her career progresses.