The Indiana Fever have been the hottest ticket in women's basketball, having hosted the largest audiences in the WNBA throughout the first few weeks of the season.
Since drafting former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, the Fever have been selling tickets at unprecedented rates. In fact, the Fever's home attendance through five games this season has already surpassed their total home attendance from last year, according to Front Office Sports.
Data from Across the Timeline indicates that Indiana is averaging a league-high 16,571 fans at their home games. They've already had a total attendance of 82,857 in their first five home games, which is more than their 2023 season total of 81,336, which was the second lowest in the league.
No team in the WNBA averages more fans home or away than the Indiana Fever.
Caitlin Clark's Fever has already broken its franchise attendance record set last season—in just five games.
The impact Clark has had on ticket sales is undeniable. The Fever averaged an attendance of 4,066.5 fans last year, a figure which has more than quadrupled in '24.
That impact extends to the road, too. The Los Angeles Sparks hosted the league's largest crowd at a single game this season when 19,103 fans poured into the Crypto.com Arena for a matchup against Clark and the rest of the Fever.
In fact, in all but one of the Fever's road games this year, the home team has had their highest attendance of the season. The only exception was the Las Vegas Aces, as their home opener had a slightly larger turnout than their matchup against Indiana. At road games this year, an average of 15,315 fans have turned up to see the Fever, coming in well ahead of the Sparks (11,104).
Many heated WNBA discussions began after Chicago Sky's Chennedy Carter committed a hard foul on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark during Saturday's game.
Even though this situation has been at the forefront of fan and media conversations, the players haven't said too much about what happened. Carter refused to answer questions about Clark after the game, and Sky rookie Angel Reese even skipped her media session, which earned her a $1,000 fine from the league.
Reese spoke out on Monday, though, in regards to conversations surrounding her being seen as a "villain" in contrast to Clark, the No. 1 WNBA draft pick. No matter how people talk about her, Reese admitted she's just happy that the WNBA is getting more recognition. But, she highlighted how there's more stars than just Clark in the league right now.
"People are talking about women's basketball, you never would think they'd be talking about women's basketball," Reese said. "People are pulling up to games. We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas. ... Just looking at that, I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role, and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. I know I'll go down in history. I'll look back in 20 years and be like, the reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of one person. It's because of me, too. I want y'all to realize that."
Angel Reese:
"We got celebrities coming to games. Sold out arenas...The reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of 1 person. It's because of me, too. I want y'all to realize that."
Caitlin Clark has the entire sports talk industry turned upside down right now. Clark and the Indiana Fever have been playing nonstop since the season started and between the attention and pressure, she has struggledout of the gate. On top of that there's how she's being treated by other teams, which has not been very nicely, culminating in a cheap shot from Chennedy Carter over the weekend.
On Monday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the eponymous host got out from behind the desk and did a whole presentation about how important Clark is and how jealous all the haters are. He did this is in a McAfee-specific fashion as he swore on ESPN and identified Clark as the "white b----" who has lifted the entire sport.
Monday's Pat McAfee Show opened with a Caitlin Clark PowerPoint:
"I would like the media people that continue to say, 'This rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class'. Nah, just call it for what it is — there's one white bitch for the Indiana team who is a superstar." pic.twitter.com/psGNQXts5O
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 3, 2024
"I would like the media people that continue to say this rookie class, this rookie class, this rookie class. Nah. Just call it for what it is," said McAfee. "There's one white b---- for this Indiana team who is a superstar. And is it because she stayed in Iowa, put an entire team on her back, took a program from nothing to a multiple-year success story?"
"Is it because she would go on to break the entire points records in the history of the NCAA? Not just the women's by Kelsea Plum - shout out - but also "Pistol" Pete Maravich's. The dude's record as well. Is there a chance that people just like watching her play basketball? Because of how electrifying she is. What she did. What she stood for. How she went about going what she went for? Maybe. But instead we have to hear people say that we only like her because she's white. And she's only popular because the rest of the rookie class is doing what they're doing. That's a bunch of bulls----. And we think the WNBA, more specifically, their refs, need to stop trying to screw her over at every single turn. What you have is somebody special. And we're lucky to have her in Indiana."
McAfee also discussed the "Eminem effect," playing a clip of 50 Cent saying people didn't want to give Eminem credit because he was white. "Let's just take that into the WNBA situation," said McAfee. "That it is just a bunch of racist people who will only watch if a white superstar is there." Then the show put up pictures of Diana Taurasi, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart. "I think what we're trying to say is what the WNBA currently has is what we like to describe as a cash cow. There is a superstar."
All-in-all, a very colorful presentation by McAfee, who continues to make it clear that he can do whatever he wants on ESPN. Including defending Clark by trying to make sense of why so many people apparently hate her. By whatever means necessary.
Two days after the Indiana Fever’s 71-70 win over the Sky, Weatherspoon wrote, “Physical play, intensity, and a competitive spirit are hallmarks of Chicago Sky basketball. Chennedy got caught up in the heat of the moment in an effort to win the game. She and I have discussed what happened and that it was not appropriate, nor is it what we do or who we are.”
The Sky coach continued, “Chennedy understands that there are better ways to handle situations on the court, and she will learn from this, as we all will. As a team, we will grow together and continue to work hard to display strong leadership and set a positive example for our competitors, fans, and partners.”
In the call heard ‘round the WNBA, Carter shoulder-checked Clark in the third quarter of Saturday’s matchup and was assessed a common foul that was retroactively changed to a Flagrant 1 upon further review.
Carter refused to answer questions about Clark or the dust-up after the game. The Sky guard did, however, make some noise on social media chirping at Clark’s talent and impact in the league. Carter, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, scored a team-high 19 points in the Sky’s loss.
Though Carter avoided discipline from the league for her flagrant foul on Clark, the WNBA fined Angel Reese for failing to make herself available to the media after the game and fined the Sky organization for not upholding media policies.
1. You rarely see Stephen A. Smith left speechless, but that was the case on Monday morning’s episode of First Take thanks to panelist Monica McNutt.
After a discussion on Chennedy Carter’s cheap shot foul on Caitlin Clark that was the talk of the sports world over the weekend, Smith tried to take credit for his show giving extensive coverage to the WNBA.
McNutt, however, was not having it.
“Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women’s sports more than First Take,” asked Stephen A.
McNutt was not having the revisionist history.
“Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform you could’ve been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,” replied McNutt.
This left Smith stunned and all he could muster was a pair of back-to-back “wows.”
A little back-and-forth followed:
McNutt: “You know you’re my guy…”
Smith: “Who does more than us?”
McNutt: “Stephen A., I’m talking to you. Don’t do that. I’m talking to you about the power than you have.”
Smith: “OK, OK. I got it. You’re my girl, but you missed a lot episodes of First Take. You missed a lot.”
McNutt: “Stephen A., three years ago you would not talk about the WNBA at this level. Don’t do that.”
It’s one thing for McNutt to disagree with Stephen A., but after he challenged her, she doubled down and didn’t back down. That was impressive.
Sadly, moderator Molly Qerim cut off the discussion, which could’ve been riveting television of McNutt and Smith continued to argue over First Take’s coverage of the WNBA.
I don’t want to paint the media with one brush, but as someone who covers this stuff, I’d say 99% of sprots media, including First Take, did not cover the WNBA the way they’re covering it now. And even now, they’re not covering the WNBA.
They’re covering Caitlin Clark.
2. I don’t follow the WNBA, so I don’t know what the unwritten rules are or what protocol is for something like this. However, if I’m just comparing it to the NBA game, what I don’t understand about the foul that Chennedy Carter committed against Caitlin Clark is how none of Clark’s Fever teammates went after Carter and just let her get away with the cheap shot.
It's also good to see the refs in the WNBA are just as incompetent as the refs in all the other sports by calling this a common foul. (It got changed to a Flagrant-1 the following day.)
3. Since there has been a massive amount of coverage regarding the future of Inside the NBA over the past few weeks (especially in this column), I thought this nugget was worth sharing.
Last Thursday, more people watched Inside the NBA on TNT (2.8 million) after the Mavericks eliminated the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals than Game 5 of the Panthers-Rangers Eastern Conference Finals game on ESPN (2.1 million).
Mavericks/Timberwolves game 5: 6.3 million (6.148m on TNT, 114K on truTV)
Inside the NBA (11:01-11:53P): 2.8m
Panthers/Rangers on ESPN: 2.1m
College Softball World Series on ESPN2:
Oklahoma St/Florida: 783K Stanford/Texas: 697K
— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) May 31, 2024
4. As proven here by Clemson, all of baseball needs more attempts at the hidden ball trick.
5. It has to be demoralizing for a hometown team when the fans in the stands are rooting for the opponent. Look at what took place in the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark on Sunday when New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 9th.
Look at all the Yankee fans stand up when Juan Soto made contact.
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Charles Barkley.
The Inside the NBA host discusses the possibility of TNT losing the NBA in the current television rights negotiations, his frustration with the lack of communication from Warner Brothers Discovery about the negotiations, whether the show could continue on another network, reaction from fans to the possible end of Inside the NBA, the awkwardness of still having to work next season for TNT if it loses the NBA beginning in the 2025–26 season, and the lack of loyalty from the NBA and what would make him decide between ESPN, NBC and Amazon if he became a free agent.
Barkley also goes off on CNN for never telling him that his show with Gayle King, King Charles, was canceled, he explains what could make him be the subject of a comedy roast, who the two nicest GOATS are in sports, the Lakers saying that LeBron James doesn't have a say in their coaching search and the reaction to his recent Caitlin Clark rant.
Following Barkley, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week's topics include the passing of Bill Walton, Ángel Hernández's retirement from Major League Baseball, the mystery behind the Dov Kleiman Twitter account and the latest story about a restaurant charging for a ridiculous service.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since hard fouls against Caitlin Clark are all the rage these days, let’s take a look at some of the hardest fouls in NBA history.
Matt Barnes, who co-hosts the All The Smoke podcast with fellow former NBA player Stephen Jackson, joined the chorus of voices discussing Clark, only he decided to focus less on Carter's foul and more on the reaction, or lack thereof in his eyes, of Clark's teammates to the play.
Barnes, in a post onto his account on Instagram, ripped Clark's Fever teammates for seemingly not coming to her defense on Saturday—or this season as a whole.
Former NBA Enforcer Matt Barnes on the abuse that Caitlyn Clark has gone through in her early WNBA career 😳 pic.twitter.com/SJSsDdskbM
"So, there's a hot topic going on right now," Barnes said. "Caitlin Clark says she got cheap-shotted against the Sky. I mean, throughout the season she's been getting beat up. Hard screens, elbows, knocked down. It is what it is. She's not the first. She won't be the last."
"My issue and my question is, where the f--- are her teammates at? Where y'all at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever? I've seen a couple girls smirk when she's got knocked down, half-a-- to pick her up. Like, y'all are supposed to protect the asset, protect the star and although this is a team, she's the star."
Barnes, as a former enforcer for 14 seasons in the NBA, then went on to say that the Fever should be "ashamed of themselves."
Barnes is not the only person to suggest the Fever need an enforcer-type on the roster, an opinion that Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green stated in an Instagram post on Saturday—and one that Carter herself seemingly scoffed at.
As Barnes said, the WNBA is going to continue to test Clark. How the Fever respond, especially given Carter's—and perhaps others'—opinions on Clark, should be of the utmost importance to the franchise moving forward.
Caitlin Clark was back in New York on Sunday night for the Indiana Fever's showdown against the New York Liberty at the Barclays Center, and she treated a group of young basketball fans to an awesome moment after they asked her to snap a photo before the game.
Clark was warming up ahead of tip-off on Sunday when she happily obliged a group of Fever fans who wanted to take a photo with her.
In a moment captured by sports reporter Aliyah Funschelle, the group of kids could be seen beaming after Clark walked over and greeted them with some high fives, and they hopped up and gathered around in order to take the photo.
Indiana has gotten off to a slow start to the season, but they picked up a much-needed win on Saturday against the Chicago Sky in order to improve to 2–8. There was some physical play in that game, including a controversial moment between Clark and Sky's Chennedy Carter, but the 22-year-old didn't let any lingering frustrations stand in the way of a heartwarming moment between herself and some of her biggest fans.
Across 10 games in the WNBA, Clark is averaging 16.9 points, 6.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds.
The foul was originally issued an away-from-ball foul, but it was later changed to a Flagrant 1 after a WNBA review. Carter refused to answer any questions about Clark in her post-game media session, so it's unclear what caused the incident.
Carter didn't keep her silence for too long regarding the situation, as she posted a comment about Clark on Threads on Sunday. The comment was clearly a dig at Clark, who was the No. 1 WNBA draft pick in April.
"Beside three point shooting what does she bring to the table man," Carter wrote.
There seems to be some tension on and off the court now between some of the players.
The foul itself sparked a frenzy on social media, with Fever coach Christie Sides even adding her thoughts on the "unacceptable" foul. She even posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking for something to be done about fouls like this.
This is unacceptable @wnba When will the consistent complaints be heard?!? Something has to be done! https://t.co/QVf1vHA5l4
Reese did not speak to media after the game, and the league fined her $1,000 for failing to attend media sessions. Additionally, the Sky organization was find $5,000 for not making all players available for media.
In other Fever-Sky news, Chicago rookie Angel Reese has been fined $1,000 for failing to make herself available for interviews yesterday.
The Chicago Sky have also been fined $5,000 for not upholding media policies. pic.twitter.com/U1xTMzcrGb
Clark and Reese's names have been intertwined since the two faced each other in the NCAA tournament final in 2023 when Reese's LSU Tigers beat Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes. The two emphasize constantly how there isn't beef between them, but this moment on Saturday caused a social media frenzy regarding the two star rookies, making fans question what the relationship is between them.
The foul occurred with 15.8 seconds left in the third quarter on a Fever inbounds play, moments after Carter sank a mid-range jump shot. Clark was preparing to receive the inbounds pass from Fever teammate Aliyah Boston when Carter, who had remained on that side of the court following her made shot, proceeded to shoulder check Clark to the ground.
Officials ruled Carter's move a common foul and the play was not reviewed.
At the end of the quarter, Clark, during a sideline interview, told ESPN that Carter's foul was "not a basketball play." Meanwhile, Sides, after joking that she was "trying not to get fined," told reporters that she has submitted plays involving Clark to the WNBA for review.
"We're just going to keep sending these possessions to the league, and these plays, and hopefully they'll start, you know, taking a better look at some of the things that we see happening, or we think is happening," Sides said.
"Just more happy that Caitlin handled it the way she did. You know, it's tough to keep getting hammered the way she does and to not get rewarded with free throws or foul calls. She's continued to fight through that. Appreciate that from her. Really, really proud of her for doing that."
The WNBA on Sunday upgraded Carter's foul on Clark to a Flagrant 1 after review, according to Alexa Philippou of ESPN. Clark and the Fever will next take on the New York Liberty on Sunday night.
