Interest in women’s basketball is growing so quickly that even the WNBA can’t keep up.
On Friday evening, the Chicago Sky faced the Minnesota Lynx in their opening preseason game. The game was of great interest to women’s basketball followers as it featured the league debuts of prominent newcomers Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
The WNBA’s streaming app did not broadcast the game, although it stated that all preseason tips could be viewed through the app.
That’s when a fan, @heyheyitsalli, stepped in and began livestreaming the game on his phone while attending the game in Minneapolis. The live stream quickly surpassed 400,000 views.
The game ended in a 92-81 win for the Minnesota Lynx.
The WNBA later clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever was broadcast on the app.
@heyheyitsalli joined the fray with a quick question.
“Would you all want me to try streaming the game here??” The X user asked: “No promises of quality, but I can try.”
The number of viewers in the live stream on Saturday totaled around 434,000 views. The X user previously posted a screenshot showing the stream peaked at 173,381 live viewers.
“Y’all these are some of the WILDEST numbers WOW,” the user tweeted.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game that @heyheyitsalli makes “three bucks” per spectator.
“Anyone who saw it should send three dollars to the person, I don’t even know who it is,” Reeve said. “I guess what I would say is that the growth is happening so quickly. It’s so accelerated. And I have said this again and again in our own organization: “Business as usual” will no longer work.
“You will be left behind and this is an example.”
Reeve said she understands Clark’s game would be broadcast and is “all for it.”
“People want to see this, but they also want to see that it’s not just about Caitlin,” Reeve said. “This is in no way Caitlin’s fault. It’s more, you know, the realization that there’s a general excitement about the WNBA like we’ve never seen before. And that’s why we need to capitalize on really making sure that this is a movement.”
Reese finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Cardoso had six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.