Unrivaled Miss Caitlin Clark Despite Making TNT History as WNBA Icon’s Other Debut Remains Untouched

Unrivaled has had just the impressive debut its promotional period had hoped for. After raking in the investment, the star-studded rosters, and even the community-building events such as watch parties across, the new 3×3 league saw sold-out games, celebrity excitement in the likes of Kevin Durant, and broke some viewership records. But given Caitlin Clark’s more recent debut numbers, there’s one big what if lingering.

According to TNT Sports, the opening night of Unrivaled broke women’s basketball viewership records across the network’s platforms:

Most-watched WBB games on TNT Sports platforms everWBB viewership record for Sports on Max31 million views of Unrivaled content across Bleacher Report platforms

On the 17th, the games averaged 313,000 and 311,000 viewers on TNT and truTV, respectively, peaking at 364,000 viewers during the Lunar Owls’ fourth-quarter comeback. The arena was also filled to the brink with 850 audience while some demanded new merch. 

But what if Caitlin Clark had been a part of it? The 2024 ROTY’s massive presence in the LPGA proved that her star power could have taken the Unrivaled opening night to new heights.

Following Caitlin Clark’s debut at the LPGA for Annika Pro Am, Zoomph reported, “On top of the @LPGA‘s 7M social media impressions Wednesday, media coverage on social and X content about Caitlin earned an additional 27.3M impressions.” This brought the total to a whopping 34 million.

Another testament why Unrivaled tried to bring in the Indiana Fever star, even reportedly offering her $1 million contract. However, it is still a win for the women’s sports and the league’s president, Alex Bazzell couldn’t be more focused on the quality. “We don’t expect to go get the same numbers the WNBA does. We’re just trying to deliver a great product, which I know we can do,” he says. And for wife and league’s co-founder Napheesa Collier, “it’s about changing what women’s sports can look like.” Caitlin Clark shares the sentiment tough she remains focused on resting for the off season. 

Caitlin Clark shares Collier’s views

The NCAA All-time leading scorer is aware of her impact and is grateful for the change the women’s sports have witnessed. But she is optimistic that there is more to come. “I feel like we’re just scratching the surface,” she told TIME magazine before adding, “These people aren’t supporting women’s sports to check a box. It’s going to be the new normal.”

The 22-year-old was reportedly responsible for 26% of the league’s economic activity this past season with every sixth ticket sold tie to her. The Indiana Fever games also accounted for 45% of the league’s broadcasting value.

Napheesa Collier and Alex Bazzell recognize her impact, have wished to be a part of the change she is bringing, but the latter made it clear that they wouldn’t be forcing. “She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready,” he had said. Clark is evidently all in for the growth. But having played a whole year, the Fever icon decided to prioritize rest. With the views aligning and a spot open, may be we catch the 22-year-old soon in action during off season. Until then, Unrivaled is proving to fare well.