It’s time to Break It Down!
This has been quite the year for the WNBA, and with it, an equally fantastic voyage for one of its brightest stars, Caitlin Clark. The young rookie broke numerous records as a collegian. But as she neared her inevitable transition to a pro career in the WNBA, several of the league’s veterans, and more than a few former players, admonished her, and warned that moving to the big leagues would prove to be more of a challenge than Clark was prepared to handle. In short, they thought, and some said, she was overrated, and that the big, strong, grown women in the W would gift her with the comeuppance that she so richly deserved.
A week ago, Time Magazine named Clark its Athlete of the Year. Sheila Johnson, billionaire owner of the league’s Washington Mystic took exception, and criticized Time for bestowing the honorific upon Clark. Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) asserted the media could do a better job of promoting all the league’s players, rather than focusing on Clark’s exploits. She inquired why the publication “couldn’t have put the whole WNBA on the cover,” given the talent the league possesses.
Johnson, co-owner of three Washington sports franchises – the NHL’s Capitals, the NBA’s Wizards, and the WNBA’s Mystics, continued, “When you just keep singling out one player, it creates hard feelings.” I will come back to Ms. Johnson’s criticism/query.
So, by now, you already know the CliffsNotes version. After a moderate to slow start, CC found her groove. She went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors. For much of the season, the chase for the ultimate rookie award was a two-player race, between Angel Reese and Clark. The two were collegiate rivals, playing in a couple of the most watched games in the history of Women’s College Basketball. Their teams, Iowa (Clark) and LSU (Reese), battled in the 2023 NCAA Finals, with Reese and LSU winning the Title. In 2024, They met in the Semi-Finals, with Clark and Iowa prevailing. The Lady Hawkeyes went on to lose to South Carolina in the Championship Game.
Fast forward to the WNBA Season. Reese and Clark both broke records on the way to having stellar individual campaigns. Reese broke the all-time WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles with 15-straight (she had 26 total), corralled the most rebounds in an NBA season, and finished with the most rebounds ever. She also finished with the most offensive rebounds ever, and was second all-time among rookies in defensive rebounds. It’s fair to say she is the total package, and the Chicago Sky is over the moon (pun intended) to have her in their organization.
After getting off to an inauspicious 1-8 start, Clark and the Indiana Fever recovered to make the playoffs. In the process, Caitlin proved herself in year one, to be among the most prolific scorers and passers in league history. She averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 90.6 from the free throw line. She led the WNBA in assists, she was 2nd in free throw percentage, she was 7th in scoring, 19thin rebounding, and 21st in three-point shooting. She averaged 35.4 minutes per game, second in the league, and never missed a game. She has the most assists in a single WNBA game (19), but on the downside, she also had the most turnovers in a season. Fortunately, her history-making 337 assists helped offset her turnovers.
She was the fastest player to get to 350 points and 150 assists, regardless of experience, and she also became the fastest to 100 3-pointers. She was the first player in WNBA history to record 20+ points, 15+ assists, and 5+ rebounds in a single game. She scored the most points by a rookie, she had 14 double-doubles, she set a rookie record with 122 3-pointers (second most in WNBA history). She was the first rookie in league history to record a triple-double (she had 2). Clark was the first person to be named Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month in the same month. She was Rookie of the Month four times. Not surprisingly, in the one month Caitlin didn’t win Rookie of the Month, Angel did. Clark is the Indiana Fever’s all-time leader in 10+ assists games. Clark was the ninth rookie to be names a WNBA All-Star starter. She had 10 assists in the game, which set a record in the All-Star game by a rookie.
Finally, no assessment of Caitlin’s rookie season would be complete without mentioning the Caitlin Clark Effect (CCE) on viewership and attendance. Her televised games averaged 1.178 million viewers, which is nearly three times the audience for all other WNBA games (394K). Actual game attendance for Fever games averaged 16,084. Non-Fever games averaged 8,552, an 88% difference. Some individual teams saw even more dramatic differences. When the Fever visited Atlanta, the Dream drew 17,592 fans. In all other games, they averaged 3,316 fans. In Washington, the Mystics drew 20,522 when they hosted the Fever. In other games, they averaged 4,988. It should also be noted that some teams moved their games to larger arenas to capitalize financially on the CCE.
Beyond the games, the attendance, the stats, and the records, Clark brought additional intangibles to the table. The WNBA and Caitlin Clark were main topics of discussion, not just afterthoughts, or filler, on ESPN Sports talk shows, along with on talk radio and on social media. That is not to cast shade on current or past WNBA players. There are, and have been, magnificent star caliber players. Fact!
But seriously, Ms. Johnson’s criticism and question are both patently absurd. The WNBA is 27 years old. As a league is has labored under a host of stigmas, from the whisper campaign that it is comprised of and caters primarily to gay women, to it’s just an under-resourced stepsister to the NBA, to it’s just a write-off for its wealthy owners, and now to, Black women in the W are just peeved because they think Caitlin is stealing their shine…and more. There have always been talented players in the W. Always. But the league has seldom had a player that demanded attention, in a must-see TV kind of way. And to be honest, Caitlin may or may not be that lightening in a bottle long-term. Time will tell.
However, in 2024, she was that woman! They say a rising tide lifts all boats. While I don’t subscribe to that aphorism in all cases, I do believe it has, so far, applied to Caitlin Clark and the WNBA. The entire brand is better, because of Caitlin. Using what justification, never mind metric or analytics, could an entire leagues be “Athlete of the Year?” The unreduced truth is, it will take a lot more than Caitlin Clarks to elevate the WNBA to be on equal footing with the NBA. It will take more stars, more sponsors, higher and more consistent viewership and attendance, and a series of years that build on 2024. Meanwhile, “I’ll Go Ahead and Say It: She Was Wrong!”
I’m done; holla back!
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Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/13/sport/sheila-johnson-caitlin-clark-time-magazine-spt-intl/index.html
BREAK IT DOWN! 