36 new players were drafted into the WNBA draft. From what the final four brought us this year, this is arguably one of the most exciting times for women’s basketball. There is more investment, support and resources being put into women’s sports than ever. Thanks to their standout performances, players are swiftly garnering unprecedented attention, drawing an ever-growing fanbase and heightened recognition both for themselves and the WNBA brand.

This draft, featuring Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and a ton of other star college basketball players, averaged a record 2.446 million viewers, 307 percent increase in viewership over last year. The final game, between South Carolina’s Gamecocks and the University of Iowa’s Hawkeyes, averaged about 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million combined on ESPN and ABC, making it the first time in history that a women’s final has drawn a larger TV audience than the men’s, (ESPN). The Iowa star Caitlin Clark can draw crowds, attracting 17,000 spectators to an open practice during Final Four weekend. Her jersey sold out within hours of being drafted NO. 1 to the Indiana Fever, earned a $28 million Nike endorsement, and she could make an obvious run for the face of the WBNA. “The Caitlin Clark Effect” was dubbed by Jim Trotter in his article at theathletic.com. Caitlin Clark has made her impact into women’s basketball stronger than ever.

According to Christine Brennan Americans have “spoken with our pocketbook for years that they didn’t want to support the WNBA which of course, is much, much more recently developed as a league than the NBA. So that’s the other factor. But this is about our country and what it wants. Again, it’s going to change because we’re seeing the results with Caitlin Clark now.”