2024 will be remembered as the crack of dawn for the WNBA. Yes, the league has been simmering for a while now, but in 2024, it just exploded. The league added 17 million new fans, which was the most among any sports league in the country. If we take a look at any possible popularity metric, there was a double-digit percent rise or even a triple-digit rise. At the center of it all was the Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark rivalry dubbed as the Magic-Bird saga of the WNBA. It seems like years since we have had an era-defining rivalry in basketball with some spice of personal animosity added to it. 

There are so many layers to this Clark-Reese storyline, tracing back to their college days when the LSU star pulled the “you can’t see me” celebration on Clark at the 2023 NCAA Finals. That game was watched by 9.9 million viewers, peaking at 12.6 million, and then the fans took over since. The rivalry has taken over the country ever since, with almost everyone weighing in on who is the better player. With that, it has brought some toxicity with fandoms throwing mud at each other, which could be considered toeing the ethical line, and Indiana Fever star and Clark’s ‘enforcer’, Sophie Cunningham, weighed in on the controversy, offering her take on the escalating fandom wars.

Cunningham’s podcast partner, West Wilson, started on ‘Show Me Something’, “I was curious if that type of and I don’t even think it’s toxic because to me, when it’s sports, it’s good, like it’s good for the sport. Yes, people arguing who’s the best and listen like it’ll never end. I know that everyone’s cared about WNBA for a long time, but seeing like that just that toxic, like it’s like toxic dudes on Twitter being like it’s Caitlin, it’s Angel. That is that it’s got to be good, you know.”

Fans are fighting over who is better, like they have some personal stake attached to it, but there is nothing but bragging rights. The increasing interest and arguments bring in a spike in social media buzz, leading to more fans being curious. The numbers back this up, the WNBA has been crushing it online, with nearly 2 billion video views on social platforms in 2024. Caitlin Clark’s logo shots, Angel Reese’s fiery boards, and entertaining off-court moments are going viral, reaching vast audiences. As a result, the WNBA is now “cool” to follow. Cunningham pointed out what is even better about this newfound popularity.

Cunningham said, “But that’s that’s what I love so much about it, though, is like it’s not just women going at it. It’s like you have guys, you have you have elementary boys, you have high schoolers, college pros, people who are in their 80s, like all ages of men and women caring about it. And I think that is so much fun. Like, yeah, it’s sports. That’s why everyone loves it.”

It’s no longer just the older population or just the kids, it’s everyone. It’s the middle school kid from Des Moines saying, “I don’t even care if she can’t dunk, bro, she better than LeBron [James]”. It is that long-time Steph Curry fan admiring Caitlin Clark’s logo threes. NBA fans and even “basketball purists” are drawn to the intense rivalry between Reese and Clark, it is the perfect clash of ideologies: style vs. substance, strategy vs. swagger, skill vs. emotion. 

It has forced the youngsters to hop onto the WNBA train. WNBA fans are a young crowd on the whole, even more so than the NBA, which already has one of the largest proportions of young fans in the country. Those aged 18-34 make up 47% of WNBA fans and 42% of NBA fans. For context, this group makes up only 30% of the overall adult US population. And it is the youngsters who always drive the trends. The older population has always been a core part of the WNBA audience as well as the kids, but the fact that the youth is going crazy about it is the real crux of the growth. 

With Player Rivalries Thriving, WNBA Trying To Trigger Inter-Team Rivalries

While player rivalries, like Clark vs Reese, are all good to drive interest, there is a concern that it might be short-lived and temporary. The hate between them might fizzle out in the next couple of years, and considering they are so different players, a court rivalry has little to expand on. There could be a lack of narratives to interest fans and bring in further growth. On the other hand, team rivalries have much deeper contexts and bigger narratives that stretch for years. 

And the league knows that, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the inaugural rivals week, which will start with the Clark vs Reese on August 8. Other games will include two between New York and Minnesota in a WNBA Finals rematch, along with Paige Bueckers’ Dallas against Clark’s Fever. The two point guards and the former No.1 draft picks share a lot of similarities on the court, and their sporting rivalry is also taking steam, just like the Clark-Reese rivalry. Atlanta’s Brittney Griner will be facing her old Phoenix Mercury squad, whom she dominated the last time they faced. 

“The timing of that week is critical, because in August you start to really make that playoff push,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said back when the Rivals Week was announced. “So it would be great to have those matchups during that period to drive that playoff push into September and crown a champion in October.”

However, the team rivalries will be tested instead. Caitlin Clark is out with a groin injury, with no timetable for return. Angel Reese is missing due to her back injury. “To the extent that I know, it’s a back injury and she continues to be day to day,” coach Tyler Marsh said. Napheesa Collier sustained a right ankle injury and is out for at least two weeks. While the individuals are missing, the fans are still pumped up to support their teams against the arch rivals. Like Engelbert said, all the teams are in a crucial stage right now, and a win against their biggest rivals will do their morale good.