2024 WNBA Draft garners 2.45 million viewers, shatters previous record

Caitlin Clark led the star-studded draft class as she was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever.

Jake Olson, Sports Reporter

April 17, 2024

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark smiles at fans during a season celebration to honor the Iowa women’s basketball team’s historic run in the NCAA tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 1 Iowa, 87-75, during an NCAA Championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, April 7, 2024. The Gamecocks finished the season undefeated with 38 wins. The game marks Iowa’s second straight runner-up finish for the title.

The 2024 WNBA Draft earned 2.45 million viewers on ESPN on Monday night, shattering the previous record set two decades ago.

Highlighted by Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark selected first overall by the Indiana Fever, this year’s draft had almost five times as many viewers as last year’s event.

The previous record was set 20 years ago when UConn’s Diana Taurasi’s selection by the Phoenix Mercury gathered 601,000 viewers.

Following the selection of Clark came Stanford’s Cameron Brink to the Los Angeles Sparks as well as South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso to the Chicago Sky, second and third overall, respectively.

LSU’s Angel Reese was also selected by the Sky with the seventh overall pick.

Clark has been a part of three of the most-watched women's hoops games of all time. The 2024 NCAA National Championship between Iowa and South Carolina brought in the most views in women's basketball history with 18.7 million viewers.

The other two contests were also in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, starting with Iowa's revenge victory over LSU in the Elite Eight that saw 12.3 million viewers. Following the win over the Tigers, Iowa's date days later with UConn to advance to the NCAA National Championship gathered 14.2 million viewers.

About the Contributors

Jake Olson, Sports Reporter

(he/him/his)

Email: [email protected] Jake Olson is a Sports Reporter for The Daily Iowan. In his three years with the paper, he has covered everything from rowing to basketball. He is studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in sports and rec management.

Grace Smith, Senior photojournalist and filmmaker

she/her/hers

Grace Smith is a fourth-year student at the University of Iowa double majoring in Journalism and Cinematic Arts. In her four years at The Daily Iowan, she has held the roles of photo editor, managing summer editor, and visual storyteller. Outside of The Daily Iowan, Grace has held an internship at The Denver Post and pursued freelance assignments for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and the Des Moines Register.