Caitlin Clark’s popularity, both on and off the court, is making a huge impact in the WNBA. She’s taking the league to new levels, and it’s only the preseason.
Clark’s preseason debut came on the road vs. the Dallas Wings. She scored 21 points with five three-pointers in a 79-77 defeat. The bigger story out of the game was how many people attended the preseason bout.
Clark and the Fever hosted their one and only preseason game on Thursday night vs. the Atlanta Dream. And, as expected, Clark fans came out in full force and set historic attendance numbers.
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The most fans the Fever had in attendance for a regular season game last year was 7,356 fans. They averaged 4,066 per home game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Believe it or not, Clark and the Fever almost doubled the attendance high from the regular season last year… in a preseason game. They had 13,028 people show up on Thursday night to catch Clark take on the Atlanta Dream.
Imagine how many fans the Fever will have in attendance once the regular season commences. Clark is going to change the WNBA forever.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) walks off the court during a time-out Thursday, May 9, 2024, during the preseason game against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The most attended Indiana Fever game of all-time? That happened on May 31, 2003 against the Washington Mystics when 18,345 fans showed up. It’s only a matter of time before the record’s broken, and it could happen as soon as later this month.
In terms of preseason attendance records, we imagine the Fever set a new high on Thursday night. Indiana’s bout vs. Atlanta had higher attendance numbers than all but 12 Fever games in franchise history. Think about that for a sec. It has to be the highest-attended Fever preseason game on record, and possibly in WNBA history.
Clark put on a show for those Indiana fans, by the way. She had one play in particular that went viral on social media. Clark weaved through four Atlanta Dream defenders on her way to a clutch layup in the first quarter.
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Clark and the Fever begin their regular season on May 14 vs. the Sun. Indiana hosts its first home game on Thursday, May 16 vs. Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty.
