Caitlin Clark Gets the 'Last Laugh' on WNBA After Her Team Is Eliminated

Caitlin Clark would love to still be playing basketball in October.

It's the WNBA playoffs and fan interest has been at an all-time high.

That is, until her Indiana Fever were eliminated from the playoffs.

Viewership for the opening games of the WNBA semifinals fell approximately 44 to 47 percent compared with the opening game of Indiana's first-round series against the Las Vegas Aces.

A bit of good news for the WNBA: Instead of losing 55% of TV audience when Fever go out (info below), the drop for semis Game 1 vs Game 1 of Fever-Aces a week earlier is 44-47%: 2.11M Fever-Aces ABC 1.17M Liberty–Dream ABC 1.12M Aces–Valkyries NBC/Peacock All Sun vs NFL games

— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) October 7, 2026

The numbers were highlighted by longtime sports journalist Christine Brennan, who compared the audience for the Fever-Aces opener with the two semifinal openers.

Brennan noted on X:

A bit of good news for the WNBA: Instead of losing 55% of TV audience when Fever go out (info below), the drop for semis Game 1 vs Game 1 of Fever-Aces a week earlier is 44-47%: 

2.11M Fever-Aces ABC 1.17M 

Liberty–Dream ABC 1.12M 

Aces–Valkyries NBC/Peacock 

All Sun vs NFL games

As Brennan noted earlier:

There’s joy among anti-CC WNBA fans but no joy among TV execs and sponsors. Sad reality hits the W with Fever now out: based on three seasons of viewership data, when Caitlin Clark leaves, half of W’s TV audience leaves as well. Maybe this month is different?

That's a dramatic decline, especially considering that the playoffs are supposed to become more compelling as the championship approaches.

Clark has demonstrated an unusual ability to attract people who weren't previously regular WNBA viewers. Her long-distance shooting, competitive personality and college basketball fame helped turn Indiana into one of the most closely followed teams in women's professional sports.

Yet Clark's popularity has also coincided with an extraordinary amount of controversy. Woke commentators have targeted her for her white fanbase and have injected racial politics into conversations about her popularity.

Indiana's first-round series against Las Vegas was particularly chippy. During Game 2, Wilson confronted a courtside fan, drawing a technical foul. The incident prompted criticism and calls for additional discipline, but the WNBA did not suspend her.

WNBA player A’ja Wilson lost her mind after a fan pointed at her, charged a fan in the stands and berated him. The WNBA is such a joke league. The fan did nothing at all wrong here. https://t.co/KlMm3Whn4q

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 30, 2026

There were other complaints about the biased officiating, as Brickcenter compared the Aces' play to WWE wrestling.

The Aces are pulling WWE moves on the Fever, and the refs call foul on INDIANA 😭 The refs then REFUSED to let the Fever challenge it. They're not hiding it AT ALL anymore https://t.co/ZxepS3wM5s

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 2, 2026

Caitlin Clark elbowed in the mouth and bleeding — NO CALL A’ja Wilson trips and falls — FREE THROWS https://t.co/vCng9zCKMK

— Hater Report (@HaterReport) October 2, 2026

The elimination game had one of the largest free throw discrepancies you'll ever see, leading to allegations the game was "rigged."

The Indiana Fever vs. Aces series had a free throw differential of +31 for the Aces. This is the LARGEST FT differential in a 3-game series in WNBA history 😂 In case you were looking for more evidence (as if we need it) that this thing was rigged.

— Ryan Loves Ball (@ryanlovesball) October 2, 2026

When it's all said and done, however, Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham were big draws for the Indiana Fever games.

And when the team was eliminated, their fans went with them. Poof! Half of the WNBA fanbase gone.

But not everyone is upset over it. Woke illiterati are glad Clark is out. And a New York Times writer even wants Cunningham "canceled," as RedState colleague Nick Arama recently covered.

Buckner termed Cunningham a "30-year-old unrestricted free agent who averages fewer than 8 points a game" and argued she wasn't worth it...

Apparently, it's too "turbulent" to observe the basic reality that women should be the people playing women's sports. I guess it's wrong to tell prima donnas to "grow up" and appreciate the platform they're able to play on. Wouldn't want people doing that. 

The WNBA is going to learn the hard way that it can "go Woke and go broke," or it can treat everyone who plays the game with respect.

But that might mean abandoning its left-wing politics and enforcing an even playing field for all actual women, regardless of their race or political opinions.

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