- Bets were also six times higher at Caesars Sportsbook for Indiana’s 92-71 loss.
- Only Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota T-Wolves was selected ahead of the 21-year-old Clark.
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Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut averaged 2.1 million viewers on television on Tuesday, making it the most-watched professional women’s basketball game in more than 20 years.
Even though the 21-year-old point guard’s first league game of the season ended in a crushing loss to the Connecticut Sun, fans tuned into ESPN2 to watch the Indiana Fever’s road game last night.
What’s more, Clark and company gained more viewers than two NBA games on Christmas Day last year, according to Joe Pompliano.
Bets were also six times higher at Caesars Sportsbook for the Fever’s 92-71 loss than they were for Game 4 of the Las Vegas Aces’ eventual victory over the New York Liberty in last season’s WNBA Finals.
Clark’s debut also ended up being the highest-bet game at Caesars of any WNBA game last season.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut had more viewers than two NBA games on Christmas Day last year
Betting on that game helped boost betting in the league overall, with a 516 percent increase in the number of tickets at Caesars over opening night last year and an 84 percent increase in the amount of money .
The Fever-Sun game was also the most bet WNBA game on BetMGM, although specific numbers were not immediately available.
Clark’s 20.5-point over/under was that sportsbook’s highest-bet proposition in the WNBA and NBA. She scored 20 points, overcoming a slow start that included 10 turnovers in the game.
Clark was the second most popular pick among men and women over the past week on fantasy site PrizePicks. Only Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves was ahead of Clark, putting her ahead of players like Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum.
Clark scored 20 points, overcoming a slow start that included 10 turnovers Tuesday night.
The number of picks on the site for all WNBA games was 185 percent higher than last year’s opening night.
Clark was expected to lead the WNBA to new heights, similar to what she did the past two years by leading Iowa to the national championship game in back-to-back seasons. Her style was a big part of the growing interest in women’s basketball, with Clark regularly shooting from the midcourt logo while becoming the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader in her four years with the Hawkeyes.
The Fever selected her with the No. 1 overall pick this year, but Indiana remains in rebuilding mode even with Clark and reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston. The Sun played in the WNBA Finals just two seasons ago, losing in four games to the Aces. They reached the semifinals last season before losing in four games to Liberty.
“Disappointed and nobody likes to lose, that’s just the way it is,” Clark said after the loss to the Sun. “You can’t beat yourself up too much for one game.”