Fever-Sun Game 2, final game of Caitlin Clark’s rookie season, draws record WNBA playoff audience for ESPN

Caitlin Clark helped the WNBA to several record-high viewership numbers throughout her first season. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the final game of her rookie campaign drew a big audience.

Game 2 of the first-round WNBA playoff matchup between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun averaged 2.54 million viewers for ESPN on Wednesday, according to Sports Media Watch. The audience peaked at 3.4 million viewers.

That’s the largest viewership a WNBA game has ever gotten on cable and the most for a postseason contest since 1999’s Western Conference Final Game 2 with the Los Angeles Sparks versus the Houston Comets, which averaged 2.62 million viewers.

The broadcast also ranks among the league’s top 10 highest audiences in league history. (It slides in at No. 9, to be exact.)

The Sun defeated the Fever, 87–81, to finish the best-of-2 series and conclude Clark’s rookie season. Connecticut advanced to the WNBA semifinals and will face the Minnesota Lynx beginning on Sunday.

Clark finished with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the final game of her season. She joined Maya Moore as the second rookie in league history to notch 25 points, five assists and five rebounds in a playoff game. Aliyah Boston grabbed 19 rebounds with 16 points for the Fever, while Kelsey Mitchell finished with 17 points.

The Sun were led by Alyssa Thomas‘ 19 points and 13 assists, followed by Marina Mabrey‘s 17 points with DeWanna Bonner adding 15 points and eight rebounds.

Game 2’s number follows the Game 1 audience of 1.84 million (on an NFL Sunday), which was the highest audience for a WNBA playoff game since 2003. Connecticut defeated Indiana, 93–69.

Demonstrating the growing popularity of the WNBA, Wednesday night’s series victory for the Lynx over the Phoenix Mercury drew 1.22 million viewers. That was ESPN’s third-highest audience for a WNBA postseason game, according to the network.