“I had the women’s college softball World Series on": $5 million worth Caitlin Clark confesses to prioritizing the WCWS over 2024 NBA Finals

As much as she loves to play and watch basketball, it seems like Caitlin Clark's attention was not on the ongoing NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks tipped off in Game 1 of the finals, but Clark shared that she skipped it for the Women's College World Series between Oklahoma and Texas.

During a press conference on Friday before the game against the Washington Mystics, the $5 million worth (per Celebrity Net Worth) Caitlin Clark said:

"To be honest, I had the Women's College Softball World Series on instead. It was a little bit better of a game going on. Then I flipped back to the NBA. I was flipping back and forth."

"There's a girl who pitches for Texas who actually lived a couple of streets over from me growing up," Clark said. "So, I was rooting for the Texas Longhorns. I think that's a great display of women's sports and where it's going. I've always been a fan of women's softball and I support women's sports across the board."

Women's college sports are enjoying an all-time high attention this year. After the record-breaking viewership numbers for the women's March Madness, the WCWS also had a spike in viewership.

Per ESPN, Game 2 of Texas vs. Oklahoma was the most-watched NCAA WCWS Final on record, with a 2.5 million peak in viewers. This is a 24% increase from last season and a 3% from 2015 (previous all-time high).

Caitlin Clark speaks out on the unnecessary noise surrounding the WNBA

The attention on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever has reached new highs in the last few weeks. After a few incidents of brute physicality from opposing players during games, the conversation has steered towards the treatment of Clark in the WNBA and the apparent targeting.

The guard spoke about the situation to USA Today's Christine Brennan before Friday's game.

"Sometimes it stinks how much the conversation is outside of basketball, not the product on the floor and the amazing players that are on the floor," Clark said. "And how good they are for their teams, and how great this season has been for women's basketball going from college to now the WNBA and the crowds are unprecedented ... the viewership is amazing."

"I try to block it out. I don't have social media on my phone, I don't go on it, I don't see a lot of it," she added. "But I don’t really think it’s that different from when I was in college. Everybody’s going to have their opinion. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion."

Clark registered a game-high 30 points in Indiana Fever's hard-fought 85-83 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday at Capital One Arena.

Do you think Caitlin Clark is being targeted unfairly by her opponents? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.