Women's Fastbreak On SI

Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese Rivalry Game Draws ESPN WNBA Record Ratings

The May 17 game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky set ratings records for the WNBA.
Grant Young|
May 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) shake hands before the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
May 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) shake hands before the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

There was a ton of anticipation for the showdown between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky for both teams' 2025 WNBA season debuts on Saturday, May 17.

Much of this is owed to the storied rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, which added a fascianting new layer during the third quarter of Saturday's game, when Clark fouled Reese hard while she was going for a layup, this prompting Clark to receive a flagrant foul and Reese to go at her before getting pushed away by Aliyah Boston.

In terms of the game's actual competitiveness, the Fever won in a 35-point blowout. But that didn't detract from fan intrigue, which is shown in a staggering announcement made by ESPN on May 20.

ESPN PR made an X post that wrote, "The most-watched #WNBA opening weekend EVER on ESPN platforms 👏

"Sky-Fever
🏀 2.5M avg. viewers, 3.1M peak
🏀 Most-watched WNBA game EVER on ESPN platforms".

It also added that this Saturday showdown was a 115% increase in viewership from last year's regular season average on ABC.

It's also worth noting that the Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty game that aired right before Fever vs. Sky amassed an average of 1.3 million viewers and peaked at 1.9 million, which is fantastic in its own right.

Some in the media space try to dispute the fact that Clark and Reese are rivals, if only because Clark has produced a better career on the court to this point. However, as Colin Cowherd said when speaking about the flagrant foul's aftermath on Monday, "Rivalries equal ratings".

Therefore, these ratings convey that this rivalry is alive and well.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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