The Minnesota Lynx will kick off the season Tuesday night against the Storm in Seattle as excitement among Minnesota fans builds for their home opener this Friday.
Last year the team made the playoffs but lost in the first round to the Connecticut Sun.
This year, Jillian Hiscock, owner of A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis, is hoping they go even further as she preps to host fans this week.
"This week, we're really excited to welcome fans," Hiscock explains. "Obviously, we want people, as many people as possible to go out to the games. We'll be doing some pregame specials to encourage people to come out and stop by before they head down to the Target Center."
She says it hasn't been just basketball bringing patrons in and that hype around all women's sports is at an all-time high. She knows Minnesotan's interest goes beyond just a trend.
"I know it goes beyond the Caitlin Clark Effect," Hiscock says. "No offense to Caitlin, but we're seeing folks coming in for all different kinds of sports. I mean, that last weekend was the start of women's college softball, conference championships and we had lots of people in to watch that."
That Caitlin Clark Effect? It's definitely real right now.
Even before playing a WNBA game, Clark has left her mark in the pros. The league’s draft had record viewership, and her No. 22 Indiana Fever jerseys have been flying off the shelves.
Three WNBA teams have already moved their games to bigger arenas to keep up with the demand for tickets to watch her play. Her debut in Connecticut is sold out — the first sellout for the Sun in a season opener since they played their inaugural game at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003 after moving from Orlando.
This will be the second sold-out crowd Clark will play in front of in her extremely young WNBA career. Her preseason game in Dallas was sold out, too. Over 13,000 fans also turned up for her only home preseason game.
Clark’s home debut will be Thursday, when the Fever host the New York Liberty.
Here are a few other things to look for in the season ahead in the WNBA:
Charter Flights
Teams will travel on charters instead of commercial flights this season, the league announced last week. The WNBA is still working on implementing the program and it may take a few weeks for every team to be flying charters. Previously, WNBA teams could only charter during the postseason and for regular-season games on back-to-back days requiring air travel.
Only two of the four teams that traveled for the opening night games used charter planes. The Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx took charters, while New York bused to Washington and Phoenix had a short commercial flight to Las Vegas.
The league plans to fund charter flights at a cost of about $50 million over the next two years in a move that addresses years of player safety concerns. Travel has been a huge topic of discussion for years.
Clark Effect
There’s no doubt Clark has already been a huge boon to the WNBA and its teams, even before playing a game. T icket sales have skyrocketed already, and not just for Indiana games. Three teams have moved their games to bigger arenas to accommodate Fever games. Her No. 22 jersey has already flown off the shelves, and Indiana is the second-most bet team behind Las Vegas to win the title.
Changing Squads
Once again, there was a lot of movement in free agency with All-Stars Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith joining the Seattle Storm, while Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper moved to the Phoenix Mercury. Both sets of players hope to get their new teams back in contention for a championship.
Olympic Break
The league will take nearly a monthlong break for the Paris Olympic Games from July 18-Aug. 14. Dozens of current and former WNBA players will be competing.
The WNBA will have its All-Star Game in Phoenix right before the Olympics start. The midseason showcase will most likely pit the U.S. national team against a group of All-Stars. The All-Stars won the contest in 2021 — the last time the format was implemented.
Minnesota Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve, who as an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team helped the U.S. claim gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and 2014 and 2018 FIBA Women's World Cups, took the reins of the program as USA National Team head coach through 2024 and will lead this year's team at the games in Paris.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Caitlin Clark joining the pros certainly helps, but the WNBA is experiencing major growth including in Minnesota
