With the WNBA season concluding Thursday, a peek behind the curtain from BetMGM has provided insight into just how enormous the pull of Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark was this year.
The Fever guard helped spur a drastic 108% increase in league-wide betting, according to a recap released on Thursday from BetMGM. Clark props saw five times as much action as the second-most popular player, fellow rookie and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese.
“Caitlin Clark establishing herself as a star player and veterans like Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson continuing to dominate fueled the impressive growth,” BetMGM trader Hannah Luther shared. “Consistent interest in Clark props and Fever moneylines, and a significant number of bets on the Fever outright make Clark’s influence on the league undeniable.”
In addition to Clark leading the way among WNBA players in prop betting, her Fever squad, who finished their season 20-20 and won more games than their two previous seasons combined, were comfortably the most bet-on team this season. Of the top eight games bet on this season at BetMGM, a whopping six involved the Fever.
"Obviously, this last year of my life, whether it was college or whether it was the WNBA, like I've definitely been in the spotlight," Clark said Thursday prior to her squad’s season finale showdown with the Washington Mystics. "So I feel like just keeping my mind right at all times. It's definitely hard when you're 21, 22 years old, and you're doing this, and everybody has an opinion on you.
"But I think, for myself, what I'm most proud of is I'm really good at blocking that out, like I don't really care what people think of me."
In addition to Clark’s presence being felt among all bettors, the world of betting also saw a much larger audience of women participating this season, with a reported two times as many women betting on the WNBA, according to BetMGM.
“We expect these trends to carry over into the postseason,” Luther added. “Which is shaping up to be highly competitive and exciting.”
Betting on the WNBA at @BetMGM 📈
— Jon Metler (@JonMetler) September 20, 2024
The handle on the WNBA will only continue to grow once Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins join Caitlin Clark in the WNBA.
You love to see it!!! pic.twitter.com/Tsg5yWE7ps
Clark’s epic season leads to thrilling postseason setup
Clark’s season for the ages -- including a WNBA record 337 dimes and rookie record 769 total points -- is set to come to a head as the WNBA playoffs kick off this weekend.
The Fever are set to return to the postseason for the first time since 2016 as the sixth seed of a total eight, where they will tip off against the third-seeded Connecticut Sun.
Among the league’s other notable playoff showdowns will be the fourth-seed Las Vegas Aces and Wilson, the WNBA MVP favorite, beginning their title defence by going toe to toe with the five-seed Seattle Storm, led by Olympic gold medalist Jewell Loyd and sharpshooter Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx will represent the first and second playoff seeds and will face off against the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury, respectively, with home-court throughout the postseason.
