Reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson wasn’t much of a WNBA fan and admitted he couldn’t even shoot a basketball. However, with professional women’s hoops generating enormous global attention and shattering television records in the 2024 season, it has become far more than just a viewing experience.
“I wasn’t too fond of women’s basketball because they not dunking and stuff,” Jackson said in an interview with ESSENCE “Now, women [are] dunking. They got handles. Women going crazy.”
Some new inspiration
Jackson was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 32nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Winning two league MVPs and securing multiple All-Pro selections, his journey from a borderline first-round pick to one of the top quarterbacks in the game reflects plenty of self-motivation.
However, the Louisville University product recently drew some inspiration from an unlikely source.
“On a high level, I’m seeing [Chicago Sky forward] Angel Reese. I’m seeing [Indiana Fever guard] Caitlin [Clark],” Jackson said. “I’m seeing all these girls go crazy. Man, it’s inspiring.”
Both WNBA stars have extended their wings beyond sole inspiration. They assembled a rookie campaign that will be worth celebrating for a long time. Reese notched the single-season record for rebounding in September and finished the year with 446.
Clark, meanwhile, was voted Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year after stringing together season averages of 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists to go along with an impressive 41.7 percent shooting from 3-point range and over 90 percent from
A smashing success
Clark has already helped lead the way in impacting numerous communities and women across the world. This was part and parcel of the tug-of-war she helped create between her fans and detractors.
“Other girls can grow up and play basketball,” Lamar said of Clark and Reese’s resounding impact off the court. “They don’t gotta be doing hair and stuff. They can play basketball. Play some sports.”
It isn’t difficult to understand just how enormous of a draw the two rookie sensations were in the 2024 WNBA season. The six most-viewed games of the year featured the Fever and Sky superstars. Half of those games were between the 22-year-olds. The Sky’s victory over the Fever in June averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN and became the most-viewed WNBA game in 23 years.
That contest was just a week after a CBS telecast featuring the two teams averaged 2.25 million views, which is now the second most-watched WNBA game in the last 23 years.
Last season, NBA TV set a record for single-game viewership of WNBA matchups on eight occasions, and Clark was featured in all of them.
It had been a whopping 16 years since a WNBA game averaged 1 million viewers. In 2024, 23 games scored seven figures in viewership. Twenty of those featured the Fever star. So, it is safe to say we are in the middle of the new era for the women’s hoops.
