It was recently announced that Caitlin Clark declined an invitation to participate in the 3-pt competition at the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend. Her representatives expressed that she wants to make her 3-pt competition debut in her home arena later this year, when the Indianapolis Fever host the WNBA All-Star Weekend. Clark’s invitation comes after New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu faced off 1-v-1 against Steph Curry at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. Her appearance helped boost viewers by one million after a steady decline in turnout over the previous 20 years. The invitation also followed ESPN’s report that NBA viewership is down 28% this season, following a trend that has concerned the league for years. What inner turmoil is plaguing the NBA? What is being done to combat the league’s decline? And as the NBA turns to the women stars, what will the relationship between The W and the NBA look like in the future?
Concerning trends in this season’s viewership should not come as a surprise to the NBA. In fact, the last 5 NBA Finals averaged about 11 million viewers, just over half of the 20 million who tuned in during the 2016 Finals. But why? NBA fans and critics alike have their theories, including but not limited to: the season is too long, games are slowed by too many foul calls, teams take too many 3’s, and star-players are sitting out too often. Fans claim that the style of play in the NBA is not what it used to be, but it seems as though their attention spans suffer the same decay. Commissioner Adam Silver, aware of the concerning trends, has employed a plethora of new rules and gimmicks to recapture the attention of fans.
NBA fans have grown especially critical of “star-players” regularly sitting out games under the justification of avoiding injury and preserving energy. These criticisms are a reminder that professional athletes are just as much entertainers as they are competitors, and therefore they are expected to perform. At the same time, these basketball players make exorbitant amounts of money under the pretext they compete in 82 games a season. As of 2024, NBA players made on average $11.9 million per year — 80 times more than the average WNBA player — so, participation in regular season games is expected for the check they receive. To combat disappointed fans, the NBA introduced new regulations for players that are considered “stars”. According to ESPN, they must be available for nationally televised games, they must have a league-approved reason to sit, there cannot be more than one of these players on the bench, and if on the bench, they must be visible to fans. There is not enough data to determine if these new rules have made a difference in the participation of “stars,” but for the money they make, fans hope that they want to play.
Another tactic to boost regular season ratings was the introduction of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament. Inaugurated during the 2023-2024 season, every NBA team is now sorted into randomized groups and have “NBA Cup” games scattered throughout their regular season schedule. According to CBS Sports, the top teams from each group qualify for a knock-out tournament played in Las Vegas, with players on the winning team taking home $500,000. Despite the Introduction of this event, viewership was still down 1% during the 2023-2024 season. Another approach the league has taken is refiguring the All-Star game. Departing from the classic East vs West game composed of fan-voted players, the NBA has trialled different variations of the game in the past years. The 2025 All Star Game is set to be a four team mini-tournament, with teams drafted by analysts competing in first-to-40 games. One of the teams, Team Candace, is to be managed by WNBA legend Candace Parker, another instance of the NBA turning to support from the W.
Though these new additions to the league could end up improving competition in the long-run, it is obvious that the NBA has been scrambling over the past few years to remain dominant. The NBA’s struggles have occurred simultaneously to a prosperous few years for the WNBA. According to the WNBA, last year The W averaged 1.19 million viewers per game, an increase of 170%. According to Togethxr, the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game saw a record 3.4 million viewers and the WNBA was recently named the top growing brand of 2024. Caitlin Clark declining to appear at NBA’s all-star weekend is a strong indication of the momentum the WNBA has amidst the lull the NBA is trying to escape. With the NBA looking to support the WNBA, there is space for a collective fanbase to be built, but are NBA fans ready to embrace women? More importantly, does the WNBA still need the NBA as a crutch? With rapid expansion in the WNBA, there may be a new league rising to the top.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Finley Tipton, Katie McCabe
