While fans had a close look at Caitlin Clark during her sizzling preseason debut for the Indiana Fever, they couldn’t watch Clark’s arch-rival Angel Reese in action, whose maiden preseason game was untelevised. During the preseason game between Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx, Sky’s Center Reese was all over the floor for 13 points, 9 rebounds, two steals, and a block but couldn’t prevent an 11-point loss. However, fans were deprived of the game action and had to watch a grainy live stream.
At any rate, the 2023 NCAA Most Outstanding Player of the Year gave props to the 2024 Draft class, which is set to turn the tide in favor of the WNBA. As they have made a ton of impression during the preseason, Reese took to her X and wrote,
“So happy for all the rooks!!!”
Fortunately, a Lynx superfan did the needful and streamed the game on X. Thanks to the live stream, many Angel Reese fans watched her go to work in her maiden WNBA game. A user wrote, “We watched your match from someone streaming via phone grainy but we still here!”
Another Reese fan pointed out how a plethora of folks were waiting for the WNBA to show her debut. The fan lamented the WNBA not telecasting the game which could have fetched at least a million eyeballs, “only if the W showed your game almost 1M ppl tuned in to watch on someone’s live for you.”
Many fans expressed their elation at the arrival of the coveted rookies. A fan was over the moon when talking about the promising young talent and appreciated Reese being a vital part of such an impressive draft class, “It’s a beautiful thing to see! Loving the positive direction of the WNBA! Loving that you’re such a huge part of that.”
Meanwhile, a fan thought that the 2024 WNBA draft class put the existing All-Stars on notice, “Rookies have looked great so far, reality is coming, for the rest of the league!”
Clark made her Indiana Fever debut against the Dallas Wings amidst a packed crowd of 7,000 spectators at College Park Center. A sell-out crowd in a preseason game is magical in a league where even most regular season games are not filled. The battle between Lynx and Sky also invited many fans to the stands, even the Lynx head coach was unhappy about the decision.
WNBA’s lack of broadcast left Lynx HC in disappointment
The highly-ranked 2024 draft class has helped the league to develop an identity among young basketball fans. Thus, it was shocking that the league couldn’t field a TV game for Angel Reese and her Sky team. Is the league ready enough to embrace such a huge number of fans?
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeves lamented that the league was unprepared for the massive gains in its following. A displeased Reeves wants the league to take huge strides to at least broadcast the WNBA battles where the upcoming All-Stars are in action.
“The pace of growth is remarkable, it’s exponential. The old ways won’t suffice anymore; you risk being left behind. This incident serves as a case in point. We must seize such opportunities,” Reeves expressed.
The televised game between Clark’s Fever and Arike Ogunbowale-led Dallas Wings didn’t seem like a preseason game. It went to crunch time and Ogunbowale showed the 22-year-old how a WNBA All-Star takes over a game. Fans were expecting similar highlights from the Chicago Sky vs Minnesota Lynx battle which featured a lot of talented rookies, sophomores, and established stars.
