Caitlin Clark jokingly suggests bringing back NBA fights back amid ratings crisis

Caitlin Clark seems like the right type of person to ask about TV ratings. After all, her impact on the WNBA's viewership in 2024 was nothing short of spectacular.

The Kelce brothers brought up the topic of ratings when Clark joined their "New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce" podcast on Jan. 2. The WNBA Rookie of the Year, who took up marketing at the University of Iowa, had an insight or two to share regarding the eyeballs drawn by the NBA.

At one point, the conversation turned towards the criticism that NBA games had lost their physicality. Travis Kelce then floated this suggestion:

"A hockey-style fight once a game — everybody picks a fighter, give 'em gloves..."

Clark latched onto this idea right away and said:

"Two-minute penalty box...You can come back in, you don't get ejected," said Clark with a straight face.

Though the comments made here by TIME magazine's Athlete of the Year were in jest, she gave some serious thought to the co-hosts' earlier questions about the decline in NBA viewership.

"Honestly, I feel like the average basketball fan doesn't understand how good NBA players are," Clark reflected. "And they think it looks like they're not trying. I promise you they're trying — they're just, like, so good."

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It's this extremely high skill level, says Clark, that has led to the changes in physicality and style of play in the league.

"That's what's great about basketball: It's always evolving. It's gonna be different than when MJ played, [and] it's gonna be different in 10 years."

Caitlin Clark was honored in a Christmas Day caricature featuring other Indiana hoopers

Caitlin Clark's boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, spent a year on the coaching staff of the Indiana Pacers before moving over to Butler as an assistant coach. Clark is also good friends with the Pacers' All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has accompanied McCaffery on multiple occasions to watch Clark's games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

As a tribute to Clark, Haliburton and other hoopers representing Indiana, the Pacers and Mad Ants organizations released a collaborative post featuring a caricature of the athletes during the holiday season:

"Wishing a merry Christmas and happy holidays from our family to yours," the caption read.

In just her first season in Indiana, Clark has been featured in the digital equivalent of the Pacers' Christmas card. With the way her basketball career in the city is going, this gesture is shaping up to be a holiday tradition.