DALLAS — The WNBA is booming, all thanks to rookies like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso.
During their undergraduate careers, they set new records for scoring and viewership. After the athletes were recently drafted, their fans followed them, boosting ticket and merchandise sales and shattering TV ratings.
Clark and Reese are already balling out with their respective new teams – the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky.
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick, finished with 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks in Tuesday night's game against the LA Sparks, becoming the first rookie – and fourth player overall – in WNBA history to record a 30-5-5-3-3 stat line.
She is now also the fastest rookie in WNBA history to record 100 points and 50 assists. It was Clark's most well-rounded performance of the season, despite her team losing 88-82.
Meanwhile, Reese marked her first career double-double in the WNBA on Tuesday night in the Chicago Sky's 77-68 loss to the Seattle Storm. It only took her five games to record this milestone.
The rookie from LSU is already averaging 12 points and nearly nine rebounds per game this season.
The Sky are back in action on Thursday night, hosting the Los Angeles Sparks. Then, on Saturday, the team travels to Indianapolis to play Clark and the Indiana Fever in their first meeting of the season.
Earlier this month, the WNBA announced it will invest $50 million over the next two years in charter flights for teams for the first time during the season.
