Sports

Fever-Sky averages 3.31M viewers, most-watched regular-season WNBA game since 1997

Fever Sky Basketball Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud, right, drives against Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game Sunday averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock to make it the most-watched regular-season WNBA game since the league's inaugural season in 1997.

It also was the third-most watched regular-season game ever and peaked at 3.82 million viewers. That is behind only the June 21-22, 1997 opening weekend games that featured the New York Liberty-Los Angeles Sparks (5.04 million) and Charlotte Sting-Phoenix Mercury (3.59 million), also both on NBC.

Caitlin Clark and the Fever continue to be the league's top draw. They also have set all-time viewing records this season for games on CBS, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video.

Against the Sky, Clark made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 37 points in the Fever's 113-90 victory. Teammate Kelsey Mitchell added 30.

That game was the first meeting since Chicago's DiJonai Carrington fouled Indiana's Sophie Cunningham on a breakaway in the Fever's 90-86 victory on Aug. 8. Carrington was ejected for the Flagrant 2 foul.

There were no such incidents between the two in the rematch.

But there was controversy. Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom attended as a spectator and was ejected in the third quarter after he and the Sky's Natasha Cloud exchanged words. Freedom has since been banned from Sky home games.

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