"Our arena was sold out long before Caitlin Clark came": Becky Hammon stresses WNBA's rising popularity isn't just about Fever rookie

While the emergence of former college basketball star Caitlin Clark, now playing for the Indiana Fever, has contributed to the WNBA's rising popularity, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon said there has been significant ongoing effort behind the scenes to promote women's basketball.

In a virtual interview with reporters, Hammon emphasized that Clark's impact is clear but also highlighted that the growth of women's basketball has been a gradual process.

She pointed out that the Aces had been filling up the Michelob ULTRA Arena long before Clark joined the professional ranks.

“If you're just a recent follower of women's basketball, this has been brewing for a while," Hammon said. "Women's basketball has been at this boiling point, building, building, building. And you know, our arena was sold out long before Caitlin was coming into the league.”

Hammon said that Clark’s presence has helped the league reach its “tipping point” in popularity.

“I think women's basketball has just been building. Now, she's a part of the tipping point. She's coming in at this time where it was ready to tip over, and her presence has tipped things over,” she added.

The 2024 WNBA Draft Class, featuring popular college athletes such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink, has drawn significant attention to the women's professional league.

ESPN data showed that the average viewership for the first five games of the 2024 WNBA regular season was 1.4 million, more than triple last year's average of 440,000 viewers.

Clark's debut game for the Indiana Fever attracted 2.1 million viewers, the highest ever for any WNBA game on ESPN platforms, according to the network.

“Now that we have more eyes on it, it's freaking great. I think it's great for everybody. It's really hard to make a team anymore, and there are a lot of really great players. And, you know, I don't think it's just one super team. There are multiple teams with multiple all-stars across the league,” Hammon said.

Caitlin Clark makes WNBA history in loss to Sparks

In the Fever's 88-82 loss to the LA Sparks, Caitlin Clark made history as she became the fastest rookie in WNBA history to record 100 points and 50 assists.

The No. 1 overall pick finished with 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks in the game.

Her performance also made her the first rookie in WNBA history to record a 30-5-5-3-3 stat line.

Caitlin Clark is averaging 17.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game this season while shooting 38.% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc.