Caitlin Clark’s impact on WNBA is already apparent

Caitlin Clark hasn’t even been drafted, and her impact on the WNBA already is on full display.

The league announced its national broadcast and streaming schedule Wednesday for its 28th season, and the Indiana Fever will be featured most. Not the back-to-back WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, nor the runner-up New York Liberty, but the Fever, who went 13-27 last season and finished 10th.

After having just 22 games nationally broadcast or streamed last season, the Fever will have 36 of their 40 games featured on national telecasts or by the league’s streaming partners. It’s a direct result of the team’s anticipated selection of Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday.

The Sky’s schedule will feature 23 nationally broadcast/streamed games, including all four of their games against the Fever. The Sky’s complete broadcast schedule will be released later.

For the Sky’s two home games against the Fever, on June 23 and Aug. 30, the cheapest tickets available through the team’s website are $125. The highest is $1,700.

The Sky’s home opener May 25 against the Connecticut Sun has ticket prices ranging from $22 to $613. Three days later, Jewell Loyd and the -Seattle Storm are in town, and ticket prices range between $20 and $485.

The Sky host the Aces and Candace Parker — a member of the Sky’s 2021 championship team — on June 27. Tickets for that game are selling for as little as $25 and at most $920.

Beyond the jump in ticket prices for games against the Fever, some teams have opted for bigger venues. The Aces moved their July 2 game against Clark and the Fever to T-Mobile Arena, which can accommodate nearly 20,000 fans. The Aces usually play at Michelob Ultra Arena, which seats 12,000.

The United Center is occupied June 23, but nothing is scheduled on the building’s event calendar Aug. 30. Both of the Sky’s home games against the Fever are far from sellouts, which might indicate they have no interest in changing venues for the Clark Show.

The attention surrounding Clark’s WNBA debut and discussions about her place in history warranted strong responses from some of the league’s greatest players. Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and the first player to eclipse 10,000 career points, has always talked about enjoying dishing out “welcome to the league” moments to rookies.

When asked about the incoming class, Taurasi did not hold back.

“Reality is coming,” she said last week on ESPN after Iowa’s Final Four victory over UConn. “There are levels to this thing. That’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side, where you look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”

The Mercury have promoted their June 30 game against the Fever with a marketing campaign that includes the slogan “The GOAT vs. the Rookie.” Featured in the middle of the graphic is a photo of Taurasi looming above Clark’s silhouette.

The Mercury and the other WNBA franchises have made a glaring effort to capitalize on the Clark Effect and usher in the record-breaking viewership from the women’s Final Four to the WNBA. On May 14, when the WNBA season tips off, it’ll begin to become evident just how fruitful Clark and this rookie class will be.