Caitlin Clark isn’t playing in the WNBA Finals, but fans still can’t stop talking about her.
In the days before the Atlanta Dream — led by Clark’s professional rival Angel Reese — and the Golden State Valkyries tip off the 2026 finals in San Francisco, a new study has revealed how Clark casts a “Taylor Swift effect” over WNBA discussion on social media.
It is perhaps fitting that Clark is a self-confessed Swiftie, because she controls and dominates conversation in a similar way to the famed singer-songwriter.
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The study, titled “The Structural Transformation of WNBA Media & Consumer Economics in the pre- and post-Caitlin Clark Era,” explains how, between 2023 and 2024, the WNBA’s official social media views across all platforms jumped to 1.96 billion after registering 373 million views in the year before Clark and Reese were drafted.
“People are fascinated by Clark. It’s kind of what I would say is a Taylor Swift effect,” said Indiana University Columbus professor Dr. Ryan Brewer, who authored the study. “Taylor Swift has done something that has captivated people, and it’s hard to really get into what is differentiating Caitlin Clark from the rest of the WNBA, because there are a lot of other great players in the WNBA.”
A new study shows WNBA social media views surged to nearly 2 billion in 2024 thanks to the Caitlin Clark effect. https://t.co/Z7o1uWrA2K
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 14, 2026
Fans are interested in Clark specifically over players like Olivia Miles, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart and even five-time MVP A’ja Wilson. Brewer found that Clark-centric highlights drew on average between 20 million to 45 million views across TikTok, X and Instagram. The average for a WNBA game not featuring Clark is between three and five million.
In addition, all 44 of the Fever’s regular-season games were televised nationally in 2026, which saw numbers steadily tick up until a viewing audience of 2.5 million watched Clark’s Fever lose to Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of the first round in the playoffs.
Clark offers a lot of entertainment value with her passing and long-range shooting despite a comparative lack of postseason success relative to Reese, Stewart or Wilson. Though she’s won only one playoff game in three seasons, fans assign more importance to her individual ability and the excitement it generates than they do the wins and rings.
