NBA broadcasting icon compares Caitlin Clark’s influence to NBA legends

Fever guard Caitlin Clark has garnered limitless praise in her collegiate and professional career, but this may be the most flattering comparison yet.

Mike Breen, one of the most iconic names in NBA broadcasting, was on the call for Knicks-Pacers on Sunday night and spoke of Clark’s influence on Indianapolis– and on the WNBA itself.

“During the summer when the Indiana Fever played [at Gainbridge Fieldhouse] with Caitlin Clark, the building was packed every game,” said Breen. “The TV ratings of the Fever this summer for the local telecast were higher than a lot of the Pacer games, because of Caitlin Clark.”

This has been a topic of debate amongst the new WNBA fanbase, as some feel like putting Clark on a pedestal is disrespectful to the rest of the league. WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has come out on that side, while ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe have clearly and repeatedly stated that the hype behind Clark’s name is well-deserved.

ESPN analyst Monica McNutt said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that she received criticism from supporters of both Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese whenever the topic of WNBA Rookie of the Year came up, all dependent on who she said she supported at that point in the season.

Mike Breen was not shy in his praise of Caitlin Clark

“She’s doing, rating-wise for the WNBA, what Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Steph Curry have been doing for the NBA,” Breen said.

The WNBA released its 2024 season ratings at the end of September, which showed that the 2024 season was the most-viewed season in league history. It also revealed that the highest-viewed game on each of the six platforms that air WNBA games (ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, and NBATV) had one team in common– the Indiana Fever. Each of these broadcasts surpassed 1 million viewers.

The Fever also set WNBA records in attendance, both in a single game (three games over 20,000 fans, the only three games last season to do so) and in a single season (totaling 340,715 tickets sold).

Clark also led the league in jersey sales in 2024 during a season that saw a 601% increase in merchandise sales.

To put this into perspective, the 2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers had a historically bad season. The 17-65 Cavs averaged a 1.16 television rating, but their poor performance earned them the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. After selecting high school phenom LeBron James, a rookie with an unprecedented level of anticipation, the Cavs saw a near 150% increase in viewership.

Clark, a rookie with the same level of hype, had an even greater impact with the Fever as Indiana saw a 185.7% increase in television ratings. League-wide, the WNBA saw an increase of nearly one million
average viewers.

If you want to see Clark's stardom in action, look no further than the ANNIKA Pro-Am this week. Clark played a round of golf, the front nine with World #1 Nelly Korda and the back nine with the pro-am's namesake, Annika Sörenstam. Fans flocked to watch the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year play, impressing Clark's front nine partner.

"To see the influence that she has on people-- bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports-- was really cool to see firsthand today,” said Norda.

Clark is a heck of a draw, no matter what sport she's playing. Her ability to draw a crowd regardless of where she is will lead to great things-- at least Breen seems to think so.

“What [Clark’s] done to elevate the awareness of the WNBA game has just been a wonderful story for women’s basketball,” said Breen.