The Fever vs. Sky Game Made WNBA History on ESPN
Saturday's game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky lived up to the hype in nearly every way. Fans were treated to another virtuoso performance from Caitlin Clark, who recorded her third career triple-double in a rout. New Fever star DeWanna Bonner made history during the game, becoming the lone No. 3 scorer in WNBA history.
Fans also witnessed the WNBA debut of college star Hailey Van Lith, who recorded her first career points after entering the game in the second half.
Despite the fact that Indiana appears to be a much better team than Chicago after a busy offseason, fans still flocked to watch the budding rivalry between Clark and Angel Reese.
According to ESPN PR, Saturday's game between Indiana and Chicago averaged 2.5 million viewers. That's up from last year's number of 2.3 million, which made the June 23, 2024 meeting between the teams the most-watched WNBA game of all time.
The Sky-Fever game averaged 2.5 million viewers this past weekend, according to ESPN PR.
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) May 20, 2025
It was the most watched WNBA game EVER on ESPN platforms. Still think it's not a rivalry? https://t.co/W329UwFOhh
ESPN says that Saturday's game was the most-watched WNBA broadcast on its platform, showing the star power that Clark and Reese hold. Three of the five games between the two teams this season are in primetime, and the Sky moved their two home games against Indiana to the United Center.
The June 7 meeting between the two teams will be the first WNBA game played at the arena Michael Jordan made famous. The United Center is one of the largest arenas in the NBA, giving the Fever and Sky the opportunity to break the all-time attendance record.
Much of the attention from Saturday's game has been on a flagrant foul from Clark, who shoved Reese to the ground while trying to prevent an easy layup in the second half.
Reese quickly got up and tried to get in Clark's face, but was prevented by Aliyah Boston. Officials gave Clark a flagrant 1 and assessed technicals to both Reese and Boston.
Both players simply acknowledged it as a "basketball play" and have moved on, but many others in the media have brought in other angles to the conversation. Ryan Clark and Robert Griffin III's conversation on the issue has become personal, showing just how much this rivalry has taken on a life of its own outside of basketball.