Dan Patrick: WNBA’s Popularity Has to Do with Caitlin Clark, Not Angel Reese

Angel Reese believes that the WNBA’s popularity surge is not just about Caitlin Clark; it’s about her, too. Sports talk radio host Dan Patrick disagrees.

Earlier this week, Reese went on a tangent, telling reporters not to give Catlin Clark all the credit for the league’s popularity.

“It all started from the national championship game,” Reese said.” I’ve been dealing with this for two years now. Understanding, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that because look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball (who) you would never think would be talking about women’s basketball.

“People are pulling up to games,” Reese said. “We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas, just because of one single game. And just look at that. I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role. And I’ll continue to take that on and be that villain for my teammates. If I wanna be that, I know I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years like the reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person. It’s because of me, too. I want y’all to realize that.”

Patrick had no issue with Reese embracing the “bad guy” role. However, the former ESPN personality cried foul when she extended her rant to sharing credit for the league’s popularity.

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky look on during the game on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

“But her attention, her notoriety is based off Caitlin Clark because she wins the national title, the first thing she does is mock Caitlin Clark,” Patrick said on Tuesday. “And then, she doesn’t even celebrate with her teammates. So, she’s made it personal with Caitlin Clark. Then, she’s played off of that.

“Even Caitlin Clark getting knocked down in the game on Saturday. Who’s standing up applauding but Angel Reese. So, she’s sort of embraced a Draymond Green role here. But the eyeballs on the WNBA really have to do with Caitlin Clark. You might, if you stay long enough, might be able to see someone or something, and you go, ‘OK, I’m entertained by this.’ But there’s nothing wrong with admitting that you watch a sport because of one singular person.”

Patrick continued, “WNBA has been around a couple of decades and people didn’t notice the game – they’re noticing it now. Well, that’s because of Caitlin Clark, not Angel Reese. Angel Reese has played a role in this, and she’s a very good player. But there’s nothing about her game that’s really interesting that is going to translate to people who may not watch the WNBA, may not care about basketball.

“She is a social media star, and she has capitalized on that, and maybe she embraces being the villain. But make no mistake about it, Caitlin Clark is the reason why everybody has an opinion on what happened in that game.”

Patrick’s point is demonstrably true. The attendance figures for games Caitlin Clark played and those she did not play reveal that.

In addition, Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, has already surpassed their total attendance mark from last season. And they’re only halfway through the season.