Yankees minority owner's WNBA poll garners shocking results

The WNBA has been a popular topic among the hoops community as of late, with Caitlin Clark expected to be drafted first on April 15. Just like Victor Wembanyama, who was seen as a guaranteed first overall pick in the NBA draft, Caitlin Clark is now expected to be the first pick in the draft. With that, ticket prices for Indiana Fever games have skyrocketed given that the team will make the first pick.

At the same time, it was also revealed that the team will play 36 of its 40 games on national TV. The way many fans see things, the Caitlin Clark effect is in full swing and is preparing to take the league by storm.

New York Yankees (MLB) minority owner Patrick Bet-David, who has been making waves with his PBD Podcast in recent months, recently shared a poll online. The poll simply asked whether fans had ever watched a WNBA game from start to finish.

At the time of publication, 14,407 votes had been cast, with 97% of users reporting that they had never watched a WNBA game. On the flip side, only 3% of viewers indicated that they had ever watched a game from beginning to end.

The results seem somewhat shocking given the support the WNBA has received from NBA players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant in recent years. With that being said, however, the arrival of Caitlin Clark is sure to change things.

Looking at how Caitlin Clark impacted the women's March Madness viewership ahead of WNBA draft

While many fans who voted on Patrick Bet-David's poll have never watched a WNBA game from start to finish, that could change. As we have seen over the past two years, the Caitlin Clark effect has taken college basketball by storm.

After her intense battle with Angel Reese and LSU last year, the viewership in this year's women's March Madness tournament received a considerable boost. For example, according to NPR, the University of Iowa vs. South Carolina game averaged 18.7 million viewers, peaking at 24 million viewers on ESPN and ABC.

On the flip side of things, the University of Connecticut vs. Purdue men's March Madness final averaged 14.82 million viewers on TBS and TNT. The numbers paint a clear picture of the change in momentum, with the women's final drawing more average viewers than the men's final for the first time ever.

Given the number of games the Indiana Fever are playing on national TV this season, viewership is likely to receive a big bump. So far, both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have declared for the draft, creating even more hype around the upcoming season.

If Bet-David's poll winds up getting republished at the end of the season, it will be interesting to see how the numbers differ compared to the current poll.