Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

WNBA Legend Rebecca Lobo Makes Strong Statement on Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 10:06 PM ET

WNBA fans were treated to quite a spectacle on Wednesday night as the defending champions, the New York Liberty, faced off against the No. 1 team in the league right now, the Minnesota Lynx.

The Liberty, who were without arguably their best player in Breanna Stewart due to injury, fought valiantly against Napheesa Collier and Co. in a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals. In the end, however, it was the Lynx who prevailed, 100-93, to secure a 5.0-game advantage over the defending champs for the top spot in the WNBA standings.

Liberty-Lynx Game Peaked at 1.1 Million Viewers on ESPN

Hall of Fame center and ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo took to social media on Thursday to share some viewership information about Wednesday’s big game. According to the WNBA icon, the Liberty-Lynx game was one of the most-watched games on the network.

“Last night’s presentation of the ‘24 @WNBA Finals rematch (Liberty at Lynx) was the 3rd most watched non-Indiana regular season game ever on ESPN. Averaged 788K, peaked at 1.1M

“(It’s OK to acknowledge that Fever games are in a class of their own when it comes to TV ratings.)” she posted on X.

Last night’s presentation of the ‘24 @WNBA Finals rematch (Liberty at Lynx) was the 3rd most watched non-Indiana regular season game ever on ESPN.
Averaged 788K, peaked at 1.1M

(It’s OK to acknowledge that Fever games are in a class of their own when it comes to TV ratings.)
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) July 31, 2025

The Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever Premise

Lobo’s factoid comes with a huge Indiana Fever-sized caveat. That is, the Liberty-Lynx game’s massive viewership becomes significantly noteworthy when it is not compared to the type of numbers Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever produce.

A peak of 1.1 million viewers is an incredible feat, no doubt, but it simply pales in comparison to the type of reception Clark and the Fever get. For context, Clark’s WNBA debut on May 15, 2024, against the Connecticut Sun peaked at 2.3 million viewers.

Moreover, the most watched WNBA game in the last 25 years was the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game on May 17, which peaked at a whopping 3.1 million viewers.

Taking all this into consideration, it’s hard to deny Lobo’s claim of the Fever being in a class of its own, at least in terms of viewership numbers.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: