Caitlin Clark has done wonders for the WNBA as far as the league’s ratings are concerned. The Indiana Fever star has helped the league’s viewership skyrocket across multiple networks including ESPN, with her games with the Fever being consistently amongst the most-watched. Unfortunately, the WNBA’s older brother, the NBA, has seen better days. 

Although the league saw some of its best numbers on Christmas day, where the Lakers-Warriors matchup attracted more than 8 million viewers – the most for a regular season NBA game since 2019 – the league overall has been on a decline and has struggled with audience retention. Much speculation has been made on why this has been the case for the NBA, with some analysts blaming star players sitting out due to the infamously coined “load management,” while others point towards the high volume of three-pointers being taken as the culprit that has lead to an unenjoyable watching experience. 

Clark, who came on Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast last week, weighed in on the topic. When asked why she thinks the cause is for the NBA’s declining ratings Clark responded by saying: “Honestly, I feel like the average basketball fan doesn’t understand how good NBA players are, and they think it it looks like they’re not trying.” She attributes this to how the game is being played today by adding: “Obviously the physicality of the league has changed a lot…maybe people want more beef and physicality and people think [the NBA] has gone soft.” She’d go on to say that the skillset around the game has also evolved, which she thinks is a natural progression for any sport. 

Clark, though admits that she loves the three-point shot (a skill that’s a staple in her style of play), also acknowledges that many won’t be as enthused by it. She would end by saying that the continued popularity of the NFL in the U.S. could also be hindering viewership for the NBA, though we would need official statistics to back up such a claim.     

Commissioner Adam Silver has made some notable changes to the NBA, with changes to the All-Star Game format (another contentious decision) being his latest adjustment. Whether that does anything to affect the weekend’s ratings we’ll have to see, but one thing that is for certain is that the NBA is in dire need of an adjustment to fix the watching experience of regular season games.