Caitlin Clark boom: Phenom's arrival sparks massive WNBA betting growth
Caitlin Clark's rise to stardom has everything to do with her on-court accomplishments. But the spotlight can sometimes stray away from the court. This week, the Clark discourse made its way to prime-time programming on ESPN and CNN, focusing on her role in the WNBA's growth and the league's part in protecting its greatest asset after a dirty foul on Clark went viral.
Since she took college basketball on an unprecedented journey featuring consecutive national championship appearances, anything Clark does - or anything that happens to her - garners national attention. That's contributing to an epic rise in the WNBA's ratings this season. Saturday's matchup between the Indiana Fever, the team that selected Clark first overall at April's draft, and the Chicago Sky averaged 1.53 million viewers on ESPN. Clark's WNBA debut in May averaged 2.12 million viewers.
The WNBA's four highest-rated games of the last 22 years have come this season, and all four involved Clark, per Awful Announcing. League attendance is up 40% from last season, according to Beyond Women's Sports, sparked by multiple Fever sellouts.
Of course, if people are watching a sport, people are betting on the sport.
theScore Bet's handle on the WNBA this season (how much money is being wagered on the league) has increased by 293% from last year. Clark, unsurprisingly, is leading the way, as bettors are eager to place wagers on the Fever's star.
Despite the team's 2-9 record, tied for third worst in the league, 37% of bets placed on the WNBA have been on Indiana. The New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces - the two favorites to win the title - are second and third, with 28% and 16% of bets, respectively.
Six of ESPN Bet and theScore Bet's 10 most bet WNBA games featured Clark and the Fever. Wagers on Clark are responsible for 35% of all player props placed. Angel Reese - Clark's rookie rival whose NCAA Tournament battles helped boost the sport's popularity - is the second-most wagered-on player, as almost 5% of player props placed are on the former LSU star.
Bettors banking on Clark aren't seeing the greatest returns. Her first few weeks in the pros haven't been as smooth as her college days, which is expected for any rookie in any sport or league.
The former Iowa standout is still scoring and dishing dimes, but her prolific outside shooting that helped propel her fame has dipped since entering the big leagues. Clark leads all rookies with 15.6 points per game but shoots 29% from three on 8.3 attempts per contest, ranking 10th of 20 eligible rookies. However, Clark shoots significantly more threes than any other rookie.
She also leads the league in turnovers with 5.4 per game. Eventually, Clark will adapt to the physical nature and constant target on her back. She's the prohibitive favorite to win Rookie of the Year at -700 (87% implied probability) with almost one-third of the Fever's season complete, but her team has the third-worst odds (+10000) to win the championship of the WNBA's 12 teams. Reese has the second-best odds to win Rookie of the Year.
The WNBA's soaring popularity is because of Clark, whose rich shotmaking at Iowa caught the attention of basketball fans. The highest scorer in college basketball history is now a cultural phenom.
She's as well-known as almost any other athlete, regardless of sport or gender, and signed a $28-million Nike deal, the largest-ever sponsorship contract for a women's basketball player.
Clark hasn't played since the media tsunami that ensued on television and social media this week. The Fever return to action Friday against the 0-9 Washington Mystics. Indiana is a 1-point road underdog, and Clark's points prop is set at 17.5.
The Fever star will attempt to ignore the noise and lead her team to its third win, and people will be watching and betting.
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.