Rachel DeMita breaks down ‘crazy’ Caitlin Clark’s impact on WNBA & women’s basketball amid attendance spike

Rachel DeMita breaks down ‘crazy’ Caitlin Clark’s impact on WNBA & women’s basketball amid attendance spike. (Photo: IMAGN)

It’s no secret that Caitlin Clark had an impact on the popularity of the WNBA and women’s basketball this year. She helped increase attendance wherever she played and former NBA 2KTV personality Rachel DeMita broke down the “crazy” numbers behind it.

On the latest episode of the ‘Courtside Club’ podcast, DeMita showed graphs, stats and numbers indicating the impact Clark has had on the WNBA or “Clarkomics.”

There has been a spike in attendance in the league since restrictions were lifted. However, the overall number of people coming to the games, not just in Indiana, is at an all-time high.

“The Fever will have over 600,000 fans in attendance total this year, and the second best to that was in 1999 with the Washington Mystics at just over 400,000. So the Fever are going to account for over 200,000 more fans this year to their games than any other team. That is crazy,” DeMita said (at 2:55).

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“I need to find the attendance of the Indiana Fever last season like their total number of fans because 600,000 breaking that record by that much,” she added.

The former Old Dominion basketball player continued:

“That’s why it’s so crazy to me when people try to deny the fact that the WNBA is growing or they still try to like gatekeep the league or want it to go back to the way that it was. These numbers are crazy. Do you know what kind of money these numbers are going to turn into? This is how you grow the league. This attendance is crazy.”

Rachel DeMita added that the WNBA should make adjustments to the schedule. Some games should not be starting at the same time as other games depending on matchups and players.

She also pointed out the possibility of not putting any games against the NFL once it starts in September. She believes that only Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever can go toe-to-toe against an NFL game.

Caitlin Clark predicted to win Rookie of the Year, get All-WNBA First Team nod

Caitlin Clark predicted to win Rookie of the Year, get All-WNBA First Team nod. (Photo: IMAGN)

ESPN caught a lot of flak in late August when they had Angel Reese ahead of Caitlin Clark in the Rookie of the Year when it was obvious that the Indiana Fever star was having a better campaign. Clark responded by dropping 31 points against the Chicago Sky and the Fever getting the 100-81 win.

The sports network seemingly rectified their “hot take” by giving Clark the Rookie of the Year award in their latest article. They also had the Fever star getting an All-WNBA First Team nod for the season she’s had, leading the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The league has not released the schedule of the awards announcement, but it should be towards the end of the month or at the start of October. Last year’s Rookie of the Year award winner was announced on Oct. 2.

Edited by Pritha Ghosh