Clark‑Reese battles fuel WNBA’s rise
Brittney Griner's Honest Admission on Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese Rivalry originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have ignited one of WNBA’s fiercest rivalries since joining the league. Their matchups consistently shatter viewership records, drawing fans to witness the clash of Clark’s shooting and Reese’s post dominance.
Their teams' season opener in Indianapolis this year (May 17) pulled in an average of 2.7 million viewers on ABC, the highest regular‑season audience in 25 years. The viewership peaked at 3.1 million at tipoff.
The 2024 WNBA All‑Star Game set a new benchmark with 3.44 million tuning in on ABC and a peak audience of 4.054 million. Leaguewide, the 2024 season produced a 48% rise in attendance and 22 regular‑season games that averaged more than 1 million viewers.
In the latest episode of Cam Newton's podcast on Saturday, Brittney Griner offered a candid take on the Clark‑Reese phenomenon.
“I think it’s good,” Griner said. “Like, the Angel‑Caitlin rivalry. I think that’s great for basketball. We tune in to watch those games because we just want to see who’s going to win. We want to see how it’s going to go. But I definitely think that these rivalries are good for our game.”
Griner noted the boom in viewership dovetails with a broader discussion about player compensation in the WNBA by increasing the revenue share.
“We're just going to have to push. At first, it took us a while to get the numbers, but the league is growing. The numbers are there,” she added.
The ESPY's @WNBA Player of the Year 🤩
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 17, 2025
congrats, Caitlin Clark 👏 pic.twitter.com/x1ch6l9c2y
“We’re just trying to thrive and run the same way that some of the other NBA, NFL, soccer, like we’re just trying to thrive the same way and get the equal part as well.”
Related: Brittney Griner Makes More WNBA History on Wednesday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
