You write down how the league's most popular player, Caitlin Clark, had her throat pushed in by Alyssa Thomas, but needed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to step in and get Thomas suspended.You add how Caitlin is constantly left out of marketing campaigns, and was voted the 11th best guard in the WNBA by her peers.Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever passes against Maya Caldwell and Natasha Howard of the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sept.
24, 2026.(Getty Images)You throw in how the league's leaders still can't define what a woman is despite having a meeting on the subject.
You jot down that teams regularly ban media (see: OutKick) they suspect will ask unflattering questions.You conclude with commissioner Cathy Engelbert once dismissing a fair question about her future by saying "I wonder whether you would ask that of a man," then note that she will retire after 2026.CAITLIN CLARK HELPS FEVER DELIVER WNBA'S LARGEST REGULAR-SEASON TV AUDIENCE IN 29 YEARSYou give the list to your buddy.
He just smiles.Check the TV ratings and attendance figures, he says.Shoot.He might just have you.Folks can complain about the WNBA being a circus all they want, but circuses tend to draw a lot of people into the tent.
One could argue that the league has done a number on its reputation, but you can't argue with the number of eyeballs watching its teams.The WNBA averaged a record 1.37 million viewers across the ESPN networks during this regular season, which marked a 17% increase from last year.NBC and CBS also averaged at least one million viewers for their WNBA packages in 2026.And it's not just the broadcasts luring in fans.
The league drew a record 3.79 million live attendees across 330 games, which is a 20.5% increase from last season.Yes, the two expansion teams inflated these numbers, but the average WNBA attendance of 11,474 was still a 5% increase from last regular season.How much of this is cash cow Caitlin Clark being healthy after missing most of...