The Indiana Fever’s first game against the Chicago Sky this season, featuring Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut against her college rival Angel Reese, has been moved from NBA TV to ESPN. Clark has brought unprecedented attention to women’s basketball recently, largely due to Iowa’s games against Reese and LSU.
Last month’s game between the Hawkeyes and the Tigers drew an impressive 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, becoming the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. This record was shattered twice in Iowa’s subsequent games, peaking at 18.7 million viewers for the championship game loss against South Carolina. The 14.2 million viewers for the Iowa-UConn Final Four game set a new high for any basketball game, men’s or women’s, at the college or professional level.
Interest in the WNBA isn’t limited to Clark. Reese’s preseason debut, although not televised, attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers through a spontaneous livestream on social media. Given this intense interest, it’s only natural for ESPN to seize the opportunity to showcase the Clark-Reese rivalry now that both players are in the professional league.
Reese gained significant fame after leading LSU to a national championship victory over Iowa last year, attracting both fans and critics for her trash-talking of Clark as the game concluded. Despite their on-court rivalry, both athletes have emphasized that there is no personal animosity between them, even embracing their intertwined destinies.
Clark has had a challenging start to her WNBA career, with the Fever losing their first two games. She has struggled with her shooting, hitting only 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from the field and committing 13 turnovers. Reese, on the other hand, had a solid performance in the Sky’s season opener, despite their 87-79 loss to the Dallas Wings. Selected seventh overall, Reese scored 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, and had two turnovers.
