CAITLIN CLARK MADE DIANA TAURASI WNBA CAREER HISTORY ON SUNDAY

Diana Taurasi is in her 20th WNBA season and is arguably the greatest player in league history.

Even so, Caitlin Clark was still able to give Taurasi a nice ratings boost during their game last weekend. 

The matchup between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury on Sunday averaged 1.93 million viewers on ESPN with a peak of 2.7 million, making it the fourth-most watched WNBA game since Memorial Day 2001. 

All four of those games have involved Clark, and since Taurasi didn't enter the league until 2004, their meeting over the weekend was the most-viewed WNBA game she's ever played in.

Taurasi's previous most-watched WNBA game was her debut as a rookie in 2004. The three-time league champion has played in front of bigger audiences before, but only in the Olympics with USA Basketball.

The game didn't disappoint, with Clark narrowly missing the first-ever triple-double by a WNBA rookie and Taurasi scoring 19 points in the Fever's 88-82 win.

After the game, the legendary guard paid respect to the ballyhooed rookie.

"It's amazing. What Caitlin's been able to do in her short career so far has been nothing short of remarkable," Taurasi said. "The one thing that I really love about her, she loves the game. You can tell she's put the work in.

"Even throughout her short WNBA career, it's been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her and she keeps showing up and she keeps getting better every single game. So her future is super bright." 

The Fever and Mercury will square off again next Friday, July 12, on ION.

Related: Caitlin Clark vs. Diana Taurasi Game Draws Monster Audience On ESPN

2024-07-02T21:06:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd