A WNBA preseason game featuring Caitlin Clark's return to Iowa drew a large television audience. The game between the Indiana Fever and the Brazilian national team averaged 1.3 million viewers on ESPN Tuesday.
The viewership figure for the preseason game nearly matched recent records for NBA preseason broadcasts on ESPN. Only two games since 2010 have drawn higher viewership, both featuring LeBron James. Those included a 2017 game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls (1.4 million viewers) and a 2018 game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers (2 million viewers).
The exhibition took place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, where Caitlin Clark played her college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Tickets for the game sold out quickly, with reports of ticket prices rising significantly on secondary markets.
Clark played under 19 minutes and scored 16 points in the Indiana Fever's 108-44 win over Brazil. She sat out the fourth quarter.
The high viewership follows a trend seen in 2024, when the WNBA had 22 regular season games surpass one million viewers for the first time since 2008. The WNBA All-Star Game and WNBA Draft also topped a million viewers, bringing the total to 24 events. Clark returning to Iowa marked her first game back in the arena since concluding her college career.
Ahead of the game, a teammate, Lexie Hull, wore a tribute outfit referencing Clark's college jersey number.
Clark was named Rookie of the Year in her first season with the Indiana Fever, helping the team reach the playoffs. This marked their first postseason appearance in eight years.
The Fever will appear on national television or streamed broadcasts 41 times in the upcoming WNBA season, the most for any franchise.
Clark commented on the wider reach games on ESPN provide the league.
"As a competitor, these are the moments you live for, when the spotlight’s on," Clark said. "Like, we’re on ESPN. This is a great opportunity for our team.”
