Bill Simmons makes opening clear on Caitlin Clark, ranks Fever superstar above every NBA player under 30

Before Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut, her star power was already felt throughout the world of basketball. Thanks to a stellar collegiate career at Iowa, Clark gained national attention, which led to the Indiana Fever being booked to play 36 of their 40 games this past season on national TV even before Clark was drafted.

After seeing the "Caitlin Clark effect" throughout her rookie season, Bill Simmons believes that when looking at basketball players under 30 years old, nobody is as big as her.

During Wednesday's episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," the longtime NBA analyst explained how Clark has not only impacted the game with her star power but also him as a basketball fan.

"Is Caitlin Clark a bigger under-30 star than any under-30 star in the NBA? I think so, I don't even think that's a debate," Simmons said. "I literally did not care about women's college basketball 10 years ago in any way, shape or form. So I think some things have moved toward just the quality of play (which) is more fun to watch.

"But she seems to be some sort of catalyst that is just — It's like before and after. Now we're in the after. you have this history with these women's players in college for three years, kind of have a sense of their game. So when they come in the WNBA, you know what they can do."

Looking at some of the WNBA viewership records set in

games played by Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever

Before making the jump to the WNBA, Caitlin Clark was already setting viewership records in college. Once she made the jump to the pros, her fans followed, ushering in a massive wave of WNBA fans that packed out arenas.

In addition to attendance records set by Clark and the Fever throughout her rookie year, her impact on viewership ratings can't be understated. Games that featured Clark and her team drew considerably higher average viewership numbers compared to games played by other teams.

In addition, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever set viewership records on ESPN, CBS, ABC, ESPN2, Ion and NBA TV.

This includes the last game of her rookie season, which was aired on cable TV for US fans. The postseason game against the Connecticut Sun drew an average of 2.5 million viewers on ESPN according to FrontOfficeSports, with a peak of 3.4 million viewers.

Given the fact that Clark has proven herself as a box office star when it comes to viewership numbers, she and the Fever are likely to play just as many, if not more, games on national TV next season.