The NBA’s “We Got Next” movement kicked off in 1996, and it has finally gotten its big break! Women’s basketball has been going through a meteoric and sudden rise over the last couple of years. Viewership numbers have skyrocketed, attendance numbers are higher than they’ve ever been, and there’s a lot of growing public interest in the league. According to Redtorch, WNBA search interest went up by +322% last year! We’ve seen it happen with the men’s league, and after 26 years of consistent, high-quality hoops, the rise of W was always on the cards.

All that the WNBA needed was one shot–a big name, a rivalry, a historic game, something to get the fans through the door. And with the 2024 draft class? Cathy Engelbert’s league got everything it needed. With the entry of stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and more, the league blew up. Their highlights were plastered over Instagram, X, Reddit, and just about every single social media platform. Or, to put it simply, the public’s perception about women’s basketball had a complete 180 makeover. But the NBA? Adam Silver is trying all his cards to hold the already dwindling ratings and viewership alike.

Now let’s take a look at all the numbers and try to form a complete picture about the growth of the W and the changed status quo that followed!

The face of the league? 

There’s no name bigger than Caitlin Clark at the moment, at least not in women’s basketball. And even though it’s only her second year in the league, we would be remiss to understate her importance not just to the Indiana Fever but the WNBA as a whole. The six-foot-tall guard has been a superstar ever since her Iowa days, where she went viral for her impeccable playmaking and long-range sniping. She created a loyal fan base that followed her to the big leagues, and still chasing!

After CC got drafted by the Indiana Fever, we truly got to see her impact on the fans and the league’s reach. Under her influence, the Fever was the first WNBA team to reach 1 million followers on Facebook, significantly leading against competitors like the New York Liberty (246,000) and the Las Vegas Aces (592,000).

Not to mention, Fever merchandise sales exploded by 1193% since her arrival in Indianapolis, and overall, WNBA online store sales rose 756% year-over-year. We can tell that her impact is much bigger than her team alone. Caitlin Clark’s arrival led to the WNBA’s social channels gaining a 380% increase in video views last year, with 157 million views in the first week of the season alone!

Her branding and popularity paved the way for other stars to get their fair share, too! Jersey sponsorships and advertiser demands are at an all-time high, validated by social media metrics. CC’s rival, and fellow rookie All-Star, Angel Reese is not trailing far behind the Indiana superstar, signing deals with big names like McDonalds and Reebok in just her first couple of years in the W. Caitlin Clark stormed into the league and demanded respect, and it’s not hard to picture her as the face of the WNBA as of now.

With a wonderful past, hanging with a stagnant present, is the NBA walking to a fuzzy future?

However, the hair is graying on the other side. The NBA is on a downhill slope, and the first thing that people notice is that there’s no undisputed face of the league. While players like LeBron, Steph, and KD are still playing, they’re quite a way into their careers, and the community is desperately searching for the next ‘face of the league’ to pass the torch to. 

But even though players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic have been extremely efficient, dominant, and successful over the last five or so years, they do not hold the same kind of image as the superstars before them. Not to mention, there’s a certain sense of fuzziness and saturation being reached in the league.

The 2024-25 NBA season averaged 1.53 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, which ended up being a 2% decline from the year before that. These numbers are the lowest since the pandemic-affected 2021 season, or the Bubble, as fans call it. Furthermore, even the All-Star games and the NBA Finals are losing their shine to some supporters. 

Even more shocking, Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals saw an average rating of 4.7 with 8.91 million viewers on ABC. The concern? It is the least-watched Game 1 of the Nielsen meter era since 1988, excluding COVID years, according to Sports Media Watch. Even if the markets of the two teams are considered, the numbers in no way justify the NBA’s position.

WNBA’s dark horse: role of social media in the league’s popularity boom

Millions of viewers tune into the Super Bowl every year, and ads are a big part of the event’s revenue! Normally, we see superstars from the NBA, NFL, or other major sports or genres taking a part in these advertisements, but this year? The lights were all on in the WNBA. Stars like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Sabrina Ionescu were the headliners of Nike’s newest ad campaign- “So Win.” 

This just goes to show how much traction the league is getting on social media. Even one of the world’s largest fashion apparel companies has decided to go the women’s basketball route, and why wouldn’t they? The league is fresh, exciting, and filled with great drama. All the stars are marketable, and they all have their niches!

However, the growth of the WNBA is also synonymous with individual stardom and success. Superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have carved out their own fan bases that are loyal to them, and the league’s narratives are quite star-driven! For example, some of the highest watched and rated games in the W are between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever because of the Reese-Clark rivalry. 

If we look at one of the very first games of the 2025 WNBA season, it featured the Sky versus the Fever. This rivalry matchup ended up drawing 2.7 million viewers on ABC and was the most-watched WNBA regular season game in about 25 years! So, without a doubt, the league is still in its initial phase of relying on star power for success. 

The NBA went through this phase in the 80s, with the entire Bird vs Magic rivalry that was established. However, with the arrival of Michael Jordan and the emergence of various other stars and dynasties, the league slowly evolved from being star-centric to being a strong entity with a focus on good basketball.

Social media has been a huge boon for women’s basketball. It has played on the marketability and talent of our WNBA superstars, and given the league the reach that it has been searching for over the last 28 years. There’s no doubt that the W will catch up to their male counterparts with the way that this is going, and we can’t wait to see it!