Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese stormed into the WNBA with high expectations, and boy, have they delivered! Despite the Fever and the Sky not boasting winning records, these two stars are lighting up the stat sheets. Clark is known for her signature deep 3-point shots and impressive passing, while Reese is making everyone regret her slip to No. 7 in the draft with her top-tier rebounding and a record-setting streak of double-doubles by a rookie, now at eight games.
The rivalry between their fan bases is only adding fuel to the fire of excitement surrounding these two talents.
Magic Johnson’s Notable Comparison
Magic Johnson himself has drawn parallels between the impact of Clark and Reese on the WNBA and what he and Larry Bird did for the NBA in the 1980s. Johnson wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “When I think about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s impact on the game, they remind me a lot of Larry Bird and me. Our first meeting, Indiana State vs. Michigan State, in the NCAA Championship set the all-time viewership record for men’s basketball. Caitlin and Angel’s 2023 NCAA Championship matchup and their 2024 Elite Eight games were the highest viewership records at the time.”
Indeed, Johnson has a point. Clark and Reese’s second WNBA matchup—a 91-83 Fever win—drew 2.25 million viewers, the highest for a WNBA game in 23 years. With six networks breaking WNBA viewership records this year, interest in the rivalry between Clark and Reese continues to soar.
Johnson sees this as a parallel to the impact he and Bird had on the NBA in the late ’70s and ’80s, which led to an economic boon for the league. He believes the WNBA is poised for similar growth.
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Johnson posted, “Larry and I heightened the NBA’s overall popularity. The Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and increased television viewership exponentially. The higher viewership numbers led to the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts which then led to higher salaries for the players.
“Caitlin and Angel are now doing the same thing, selling out arenas and increasing viewership. They have taken women’s basketball by storm and with expiring TV deals on the horizon, the WNBA is now in a position to negotiate higher TV contracts and increase salaries for all of the talented players.”
What This Means for the WNBA
The highest salary in the WNBA is currently a respectable $241,984 according to Spotrac.com. Many players still supplement their income by playing overseas during the WNBA offseason, but with sizable growth in TV deals, this could change. Johnson’s comparison of Clark vs. Reese to Magic vs. Bird should inspire hope among WNBA owners and players alike.
And if Clark vs. Reese can continue to be as thrilling on the court as Magic vs. Bird was, then fans have every reason to be excited about the future direction of the WNBA.
