Special treatment of Angel Reese denied as ESPN make Caitlin Clark announcement

ESPN is set to show Caitlin Clark’s highly-awaited return to the courts, as the Indiana Fever face off with Brazil in their WNBA pre-season

For the first time ever, WNBA preseason action is set to be broadcast across the board, with all 15 matchups available on national TV or via streaming.

However, some showings are receiving a touch more love than others. The wait is nearly over for women’s basketball enthusiasts after a lengthy offseason, and a host of fresh faces – including Paige Bueckers, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith – will be making their pro debuts.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, both of whom had standout rookie seasons, are poised to step their game up even further. This year’s line-up of warm-up games will be shown by ESPN, ION, and NBA TV, with an additional 14 games streamed live on WNBA League Pass – ensuring fans have diverse options to catch the action.

And WNBA chief growth officer Colie Edison underscored the surge in popularity for league content. In a statement, she said: “We’ve seen the demand for WNBA content grow exponentially and we are meeting that demand by working with our broadcast partners and our teams to make a significant investment by making all 15 preseason games available to WNBA fans.”

In a twist, two of the scheduled exhibitions will feature a showdown between a WNBA team and Brazil’s women’s national basketball team, but one bout appears to be prioritized over the other. On the first day of preseason come Friday, Bueckers and the Dallas Wings face off with the Las Vegas Aces at 7pm ET.

Two hours later, Reese’s Chicago Sky will settle the score with Brazil – and both games are available on ION and the WNBA League Pass. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Clark’s Indiana Fever go head-to-head with the Brazilian national team at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with ESPN showing the action exclusively from 4pm ET.

And the broadcaster has noted that it will give Clark’s first game of 2025 top billing. The reason behind the Fever’s solo ESPN spotlight as opposed to the Sky could be due to Clark’s much-awaited return to Iowa.

The 23-year-old basketball phenom left her mark at the University of Iowa, outscoring LSU’s “Pistol” Pete Maravich to become the top scorer in NCAA Division I history. “We couldn’t be more excited to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and we know Iowa fans will deliver an unforgettable homecoming for Caitlin,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in January.

“Countless Hawkeye fans have become Fever fans, and we consider them family. That’s what will make this preseason matchup so special for us.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday in anticipation of her homecoming, Clark said: “I’m really excited, it should be fun. I can’t believe it’s already here. I honestly haven’t been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago, so only been back a couple of times – once for a football game and once for the jersey retirement.

“It’ll be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, my friends that are there. A lot of my family will be coming, so I know they’re excited.”

But Clark also pointed out a potential issue about coping with the venue’s lack of climate control. She added: “I warned everybody, there’s no air conditioning in Carver Hawkeye.

“Usually, [we] don’t play basketball games in May, so hopefully, hopefully it stays a little cool in there. I don’t know what the humidity is looking like, but we’ll see how it goes. It might be a little toasty.”