Nine regular-season games drew over two million viewers this year. Before Caitlin Clark entered the league in 2024, a WNBA game hadn’t reached one million viewers since 2008. Now, the league has surpassed that mark over 50 times in a single season. Even on the court, Caitlin Clark broke several long-standing WNBA records this season. However, for WNBA Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, Clark often does not get the due credit, either for her on-court exploits or the commercial and financial growth she generates off the court.

“I don’t think that without her [Caitlin Clark] and Angel to start, you’d be here right now. The best player in the league is A’ja Wilson, and Caitlin had a great year and broke so many records. I don’t think she got one vote for MVP this year. It’s so divisive… Just jealousy and envy,” said Liberman on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast.

Clark has already earned First Team honors this season alongside teammate Kelsey Mitchell. She became the first WNBA player to record 800+ points and 300+ assists in a single season, finishing with 891 points and 333 assists. She also surpassed Diana Taurasi’s record for most points by a point guard in a season and finished in the top three in both scoring (3rd at 22.3 PPG) and assists (2nd at 8.3 APG).

Clark’s historic performance on July 17, 2026, against the Seattle Storm remains one of the most dominant statistical nights in basketball history. It marked the first time in WNBA history that any player recorded at least 40 points and 10 assists in a single game, as Clark finished with 45 points and 10 assists.

Still, Clark finished fourth on the MVP list, securing 212 points with just one 1st-place vote.

While putting her on-court display aside, Lieberman believes that Clark’s presence and the limelight she attracts have had a far bigger impact off the court as well, something that the league’s ecosystem, including all the other players, should be thankful for.

“Look what happened when she got injured last year. Everything: ratings went down; attendance went down…she’s that player; if she’s not hurting you, she’s bringing up all salaries. Everybody in this new collective bargaining agreement right now, economically, if you get to the end of your contract, you’re a millionaire,” Lieberman added.

The ‘Caitlin Clark effect’ has been evident ever since Clark came into the league in 2024. The 2024 season wasn’t just a step forward; it was a “quantum leap.” That is the assessment of Indiana University Columbus finance professor Dr. Ryan Brewer, whose study quantifies a staggering 436% single-season surge in league views. Driven by the viral momentum of a star-studded rookie class and endless Caitlin Clark highlight loops, the “Clark effect” was undeniable. By the close of her debut year with the Indiana Fever, WNBA social media views had almost reached the 2 billion mark.

The sheer scale of the “Caitlin Clark effect” can be best understood by looking at the broadcast numbers she left in her wake. In 2023, the season before she arrived, ESPN networks celebrated a 17-year high by averaging 440,000 viewers for WNBA regular-season games. Fast forward to her 2024 rookie campaign, and that benchmark was utterly shattered. According to ESPN, the network’s average audience exploded to 1.2 million, marking a 170% increase in just a single year.

In 2026, Clark and the Fever generated more social media views than the rest of the WNBA combined. According to Brewer’s research, Fever games generated 20 million to 45 million viral views on TikTok, X, and Instagram—driven by highlight reels of Clark’s 3-pointers and assists, compared to the 3 million to 5 million views generated by games without her.

However, the growth has been seen across the division, largely across all the teams. The WNBA reported 51 regular-season games averaging at least one million viewers, a significant increase from 19 the previous year. Additionally, nine broadcasts exceeded two million viewers, up from four in 2025.

While all the signs point to this growth for the W being here to stay, with Clark as the centerpiece, Lieberman and Clark fans would just like to see Clark get the credit she is due for her part. Whether that happens or not, and to the extent they want, is another story altogether.

For now, the fans will turn their attention to the potentially title-deciding Game 6 of the WNBA Finals.