Caitlin Clark Improving, Fever Losing Closer Amid Record Ratings And Crowds, But Still 0-5

Caitlin Clark is playing better, and her Indiana Fever are at least losing closer games.

The numbers continue to thrive in rare air on television and attendance, as if she was still barnstorming the Midwest and beyond as an Iowa Hawkeye the last two seasons.

But there is one number Clark cannot digest.

The Indiana Fever, who picked her first in the WNBA Draft last month, are 0-5 for the worst record in the WNBA after an 85-83 loss at the Seattle Storm late Wednesday night in front of 18,343 - the largest crowd ever for a WNBA game in Seattle. 

Seattle has had a WNBA team since 2000.

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Clark lost only five games all of last season at Iowa in a 34-5 campaign that saw the Hawkeyes reach the Final Four and the national championship game for the second straight year. Along the way, she broke Pete Maravich's all-time NCAA scoring record that had stood since 1970. Clark hasn't lost two games in a row since Nov. 27 and Dec. 1 of 2022.

Indiana's next chance for a win will be Friday at the 1-2 Los Angeles Sparks (10 p.m., ION TV).

Indiana point guard Caitlin Clark scored 21 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots with only three turnovers Wednesday night, but the Fever still lost 85-83 at Seattle. (Getty Images)

But at least the losses are getting closer. Clark hit two free throws with 11.1 seconds to go to get the Fever within 84-83 of Seattle. After a Seattle turnover, Indiana had a chance to win, but Clark stumbled - as she has done frequently since leaving Iowa - and turned the ball over with 2.1 to go. And the Fever did not get a decent shot off. She finished with and impressive line - 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting (2 of 8 from 3-point range) with seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and three turnovers.

The Fever lost in similar fashion Monday night. Indiana had possession and was within 86-84 of the Connecticut Sun with 11.1 seconds left in front of a record 1.56 million viewers on ESPN for a WNBA game and before a raucous crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This was the moment.

Caitlin Clark's Signature Moment Was There For The Trying

Set up a play to run the clock down and have Clark take a patented 3-pointer for the win on national television. Clark was 3 of 7 on 3s at the moment and had hit a 33-foot logo trey for a 70-68 Indiana lead early in the fourth quarter. Her driving layup had tied it at 82 with 1:04 to go. A moment like this was why Indiana picked her first.

But Fever second-year coach Christie Sides drew up a play for center Aliyah Boston to drive in for a layup. Or she didn't draw up a play, and that just happened. Boston missed the layup, and Indiana fell 88-84. Clark finished with another good line - 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting with five assists, three rebounds, two blocked shots and five turnovers.

"These two definitely hurt the most," Clark said Wednesday. "We're what, six (seven) points away from being 2-3 instead of 0-5? It's just that close."

Indiana lost its first three games by an average of 22 points.

"And there are so many instances, going back and watching the film - little things you can easily fix and clean up that would go a really long way," she said.

Caitlin Clark has improved from regular season debut when she had 10 turnovers and from her second game when she scored just nine points. (Getty Images)

Clark has improved from the 10 turnovers she had in her first game to an average of 5.8. Her assists are up to 5.8, and she is nearing 18 points a game after scoring just nine on May 16 in a 102-66 home loss to the New York Liberty. She'll have a breakout game soon where nearly everything falls.

Until then, maybe better coaching would help. And Indiana's inside players like Boston and forward NaLyssa Smith might try kicking it back out to Clark on the outside for 3-pointers. Have not seen that much, which is strange. Iowa did that a lot under coach Lisa Bluder, who always ran a very popping offense that moved the ball around quickly. If Clark's not open for such passes, she needs to work harder without the ball to get clear. Or maybe, she has, and the passes have not come.

Indiana has talent. Boston, a 6-foot-5 center, was the first pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft out of South Carolina. Smith, a 6-4 forward, was the second pick of the 2022 WNBA Draft out of Baylor. And guard Kelsey Mitchell was the second pick of the 2018 draft from Ohio State.

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With each loss, the pressure mounts, but not just on Clark. Sides seems to be more of a work in progress than Clark. When she is miked up, she's not talking any strategy or plays, and sounds more like a cheerleader. She is the Fever's fifth coach since 2016, which was the last year Indiana did not have a losing season and made the playoffs, finishing 17-17 under Stephanie White. Pokey Chatman had three straight losing seasons, including a pair of single-digit-win seasons. Marianne Stanley went 6-16 in 2020 and 6-26 in 2021 before she and Carlos Knox "combined" to go 5-31 in 2022.

Still, the fans are filling the arenas home and away, and the TV ratings remain impressive. The 1.56 million viewers for Indiana's game last Monday night on ESPN was a significant drop from the 2.13 million viewers who watched Clark's regular season debut on May 14 at Connecticut on ESPN2. That was the highest viewership for a WNBA game since 2001.

But the 1.56 million viewers nevertheless was a 353 percent increase over the WNBA's average viewership on ESPN in the 2023 season, according to ESPN Research. 

Clark's game last Monday night also peaked at 2.97 million viewers as it was the closest the Fever had all season at that point.

"This is now the most viewed WNBA game ever on ESPN," Flora Kelly of ESPN Research said Wednesday.

Caitlin Clark Vs. Angel Reese Rematch Looms

"It's not lost on me that on a Monday night to pull in that number - that's a really good sign," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. " A lot of sports don't do well that night except Monday Night Football." 

Indiana's next game on ESPN will be on Saturday, June 1, against the 1-1 Chicago Sky, who have center Kamilla Cardoso, the No. 3 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft out of reigning national champion South Carolina, and No. 7 pick Angel Reese of 2023 national champion LSU. Clark and Iowa lost national championship games the last two seasons to Cardoso and Reese, respectively. The Clark-Reese "rivalry," which is mostly from Reese and her fans as Clark upstaged her and then some as college basketball's top player a year ago, will be on.

In all, 36 of the Fever's 40 regular season games this season will be on national television. But those TV ratings may dwindle if the novelty of the Caitlin Clark Effect diminishes amid mounting losses.