Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
WNBA - statistics & facts
Since its inaugural season in 1997, the Women鈥檚 National Basketball Association (WNBA) has had its fair share of ups and downs. Riding the wave of popularity surrounding women鈥檚 basketball during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the WNBA recorded average attendances of around 10,000 spectators per regular season game from 1997 to 1999. Meanwhile, viewership for the WNBA Finals averaged over 1.5 million viewers in these seasons, peaking in 1997 at 2.85 million. Post-2000, however, the hype surrounding the league faded; by 2019, the average attendance reached an all-time low of 6,528. Along the way, issues over travel, maternity leave, and pay have plagued the WNBA, with some parties even questioning its viability as a sports league when it reportedly fails to turn a profit. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, however, saw the league鈥檚 fortunes rebound, leading to the WNBA securing a聽lucrative media rights deal from 2026 onwards, worth a reported 200 million dollars per year.
The Caitlin Clark effect: a change here to stay?
One of the main drivers of the recent boom in interest in the WNBA was the entry of college superstar Caitlin Clark into the league. Clark鈥檚 impact on the WNBA, known as the 鈥淐aitlin Clark effect鈥, was evident to see even during the 2024 WNBA Draft, with 2.45 million viewers tuning in to see her selected by the Indiana Fever; this was four-times higher than any other previous season. This interest was sustained throughout 2024 and 2025, with the average regular season attendance reaching 9,807 and 11,148, a record figure. With the Fever鈥檚 opening game in the 2025 season against the Chicago Sky averaging a viewership of 2.7 million 鈥 the聽second-highest of any WNBA regular season game 鈥 it seems the Caitlin Clark effect is not going anywhere soon.
Who is the best player in WNBA of all time?
Although Clark鈥檚 short time in the league has seen her break records such as the most assists in an WNBA season, players such as Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings dominated on the court for over a decade. On the offensive end, Taurasi set the benchmark with over 10,000 points scored during her time at the Phoenix Mercury, which as of April 2026 was over 2,000 points higher than any other player. Catchings, on the other hand, is perhaps the most versatile player to have featured in the WNBA, skilled not only in scoring but also in defense, leading the league in steals by a sizable margin as of April 2026.
What does the future hold for the WNBA?
While the immediate future of the WNBA looks bright, there are storm clouds on the horizon. Namely, disputes over pay threaten to derail the momentum currently carrying the league. The gender pay gap between the WNBA and NBA is stark, with the average player salaries in the NBA over 100 times higher than in the WNBA. Following the decision of the players鈥 union to opt out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in October 2024, a lockout is a very real possibility if a new CBA is not agreed on by the end of the 2025 season. However, with the league鈥檚 planned expansion in the coming seasons, there is hope that a suitable resolution can be found.
