The game will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and—thanks to No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark—comes amid a massive spike in interest both for the Indiana Fever franchise and the league as a whole.
Indianapolis hosted the NBA All-Star Game in February, which would make the WNBA pick for next year’s event only the third time since the league’s founding in 1999 that a city has been named as host of both midseason events in back-to-back years.
It’s exhausting, being a revolutionary. And Clark, with no hint of being rebellious, is just that.
Under the new agreements, the partners will distribute more than 125 regular season and playoff games nationally each year. There will be 25 regular-season games on Disney platforms, 50 on NBC and 30 on Amazon Prime Video.
The game was the third-most viewed WNBA event ever and the drew the largest audience for the league since its first two nationally televised games in 1997.
Clark is looking forward to the WNBA’s monthlong hiatus for the Paris Olympic Games, but first she will play for the WNBA All-Stars against the U.S. women’s Olympic team in Phoenix on Saturday night.
The Olympic team’s matchup with Team WNBA on Saturday featuring Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will be one of the toughest games the American squad will potentially play over the month.
Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark won two of the three awards she was nominated for as the ESPYS celebrated a landmark year for women’s sports.
The NFL remains the top attraction because of its ratings and advertising prowess, but the NBA is a firm second and can command top dollar due to its younger viewers as well as having a ton of content.
Clark and Reese have garnered national attention with record-setting rookie seasons—leading to them being the first rookie duo to make the All-Star team since 2014—so it’s no surprise that they’re the leading candidates for the award.
Indiana beat New York for the first time since posting a 92-86 road win on May 13, 2022.
The Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell also made the All-Star team.
A new media rights deal is expected to provide an influx of cash that will alter league finances significantly. Meanwhile, the players are expected to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement and renegotiate.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever have played in the five most-watched WNBA games since 2002, with two of those five matchups coming against Chicago.
In front of another sellout crowd in Indianapolis, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever took an elbow to the head, courtesy Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
The first month of the WNBA season drew its highest attendance since the league’s second season in 1998 and the best television ratings in its history, the WNBA announced Tuesday.
Based on her inclusion in the U.S. national team pool, Clark could be chosen as an alternate if one of the 12 players is injured and can’t play.
Taking in account a 30-point outburst on Friday night against the Washington Mystics. Clark has averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 5.6 turnovers in her first 12 WNBA games.
In a Tuesday letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Banks said Clark has experienced “resentment and repeated attacks from fellow players” during her first season with the Indiana Fever.
Clark has arrived in the WNBA at an opportune moment. The league is in negotiations for a new media rights deal, which could significantly increase revenue. And the players union and league soon can negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
