WNBA surpasses 'Durant vs Wembanyama'... A massive hit with 3.31 million viewers for the first time in 29 years

*This content was translated by AI.

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) has set a regular-season attendance record for the first time in 29 years. It drew more viewers than the high-profile matchup between Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

Reuters reported on the 27th (Korean time) that "the WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky held on the 24th averaged 3.31 million viewers via NBC and the online video service Peacock," adding, "This is the highest viewership for a regular-season game since the league's inaugural season in 1997."

This game ranks third all-time in WNBA history for regular-season viewership.

The number-one record was set during the 1997 season opener between the New York Liberty and LA Sparks when the WNBA launched. At that time, an average of 5.04 million viewers watched the game.

The LA Sparks are also the team where Park Ji-hyun, the ace player of Korea's Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team, currently plays.

The number-two record was also set in the same year. In June of that year, an average of 3.59 million viewers tuned in for a matchup between the Charlotte Sting and Phoenix Mercury.

Notably, both the number-one and number-two records were set in 1997, the year the WNBA launched and drew significant attention. For the following 29 years, no regular-season attendance record came close to challenging these figures.

However, this year's Indiana-Chicago game averaged 3.31 million viewers, setting a new post-1997 record.

The figure of 3.31 million viewers is even more remarkable when compared to the NBA. According to NBC's viewership data for the 2025–2026 NBA season, the March game between Houston and San Antonio averaged 3.2 million viewers.

That game was a major matchup that drew considerable attention even in the NBA. Houston featured 'superstar' Durant, selected as an NBA All-Star a remarkable 16 times, while San Antonio held 'monster big man' Wembanyama, regarded as both the present and future of the NBA. NBC scheduled this game as part of its weekend flagship program, "Sunday Night Basketball."

However, in terms of viewership, the WNBA came out ahead. The Indiana-Chicago game drew approximately 110,000 more viewers than the Houston-San Antonio matchup featuring Durant and Wembanyama.

This number is by no means insignificant when compared to the NBA as a whole. In the 2025–2026 NBA season, there were 19 broadcasts that averaged over 3 million viewers. Notably, the LA Lakers, one of the league's most popular teams, appeared in six of the top 15 games with the highest viewership for the season.

The season's highest-attended game was the matchup between San Antonio and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Christmas Day, which averaged 6.71 million viewers. The Lakers also demonstrated their strong drawing power by attracting 5.1 million viewers in a game against the Golden State Warriors.

Of course, it is unreasonable to directly compare this WNBA game with NBA super teams. Nevertheless, the fact that a single WNBA regular-season game drew viewership comparable to a major NBA matchup like Durant vs. Wembanyama reflects the changed status of women's basketball in the United States recently.

At the center of this year's Indiana-Chicago game's success was undoubtedly Caitlin Clark (Indiana).

Clark is considered the WNBA's top superstar and a "box-office guarantee." She rose to national stardom during her college basketball days in the U.S. with explosive scoring ability, and since joining the WNBA, she has become a leading face driving viewership and attendance for the league.

At the start of this season, Clark's absence became such a hot topic that many Indiana fans were seen leaving the arena, highlighting her absolute presence in the league.

Clark fully met fan expectations with her performance in this game. Against Chicago, she scored 37 points by hitting a career-high eight three-pointers in a single WNBA game. The Indiana Fever, powered by Clark's explosive play, decisively defeated Chicago 113-90.

The tension recently built up between the two teams also fueled the event's success. In a previous matchup on the 9th, Chicago's Dishonae Carrington committed a hard foul on Indiana's Sophie Cunningham during a fast break. Carrington was immediately ejected after being called for a Flagrant 2 foul.

The scene of the collision and the tense exchanges between players from both teams spread quickly via social media, drawing significant attention.

And just two weeks later, when the rematch took place, the focus of U.S. basketball fans turned once again to the game. With the presence of superstar Clark and the intense tension between the two teams, the matchup ultimately averaged 3.31 million viewers. The WNBA has set a new regular-season attendance record for the first time in 29 years.

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*This content was translated by AI.