Bridget Carleton was in Minneapolis this summer when a WNBA fan stopped her on the street. The fan rolled up a sleeve to reveal a tattoo of Carleton's name and her Minnesota Lynx jersey number on their arm.
For the Canadian, it was just another example of the league's growing popularity in its most successful season ever.
"The passion these fans have, it's been a lot of fun," said Carleton of the fan's ink. "I feel like, especially in women's sports, fans can be connected to us on a different level because we put ourselves out there.
"We try to show our personalities, be more than just the athletes we are. I think that's what's special about it and they get to know us."
The WNBA reached new highs in 2024 on and off the court.
It started with a hotly anticipated draft where NCAA scoring sensation Caitlin Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. The Chicago Sky took rebounding wiz Angel Reese seventh overall in that same draft, which American sports broadcaster ESPN said averaged 2.4 million viewers, up 328 per cent over 2023 to become the most-viewed WNBA Draft ever.
May's announcement of a new franchise based in Toronto generated more buzz in Canada before the WNBA's season had begun.
Although the as-yet-unnamed Toronto franchise won't play until 2026, the WNBA reports that regular-season viewership in Canada was up 148 per cent year over year.
The second annual WNBA Canada Game a pre-season exhibition held on May 5 in Edmonton, featured a sellout crowd for the second consecutive year. Viewership of the second Canada Game was up 65 per cent in Canada over the 2023 edition in Toronto.
The excitement continued on the court as Las Vegas Aces centre A'ja Wilson set a new WNBA record with 26.9 points per game, Reese set the new rebounding mark with 13.1 per game, and Clark fed into a rivalry with Reese over rookie of the year honours with a league-best 8.4 assists per game.
Ultimately, Clark won the rookie of the year award after Reese's season ended early with a hairline fracture in her wrist.
ESPN reported several new ratings highs, including the most-viewed regular season ever across its platforms, averaging 1.2 million viewers per game in the United States, up 170 per cent over 2023.
When Clark's Fever played Reese's Sky on June 23 it was the most-watched regular-season game in WNBA history, averaging 2.3 million viewers.
Carleton, playing her sixth WNBA season, felt that excitement.
"Arenas all across the country were sold out consistently the playoffs were just another level of energy and excitement in every single building," she said on Wednesday from her home in Chatham-Kent, Ont. "You felt it on social media, even in the cities, walking around on the street where two, three years ago, I probably wouldn't have gotten recognized.
"Now it's hard to go out in public without at least one or two people noticing me or saying 'hey, good game last night,' things like that. It's so fun to be a part of this wave."
Carleton averaged a career-high 29.9 minutes per game for Minnesota, scoring 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a steal per game. She finished third in voting for the league's Most Improved Player Award, helping the Lynx (30-10) reach the playoffs for a 15th time.
"Getting a solid opportunity this year to be a consistent starter and play significant minutes was just a credit, I think, to all the hard work I put in and being the player I can be," said Carleton. "I'm really proud of how far I've come as a professional and I think this year was a good showing of that."
Carleton kept contributing in the post-season, making two clutch free throws with two seconds left in the fourth quarter as Minnesota forced a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Oct. 18 by beating the New York Liberty 82-80.
That winner-take-all finale also drew record numbers of viewers with ESPN reporting that WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV was the most-watched Finals in the league's 25 years, averaging 1.6 million viewers, up 115 per cent over 2023.
Each telecast in the five-game series averaged more than a million American viewers, with Games 3, 4, and 5 each becoming the most-viewed WNBA Finals games ever on U.S. cable.
"I think women's basketball has been on the rise for a long time, and finally, we're getting the recognition we deserve," said Carleton. "People just gave us a chance finally, and they obviously love the product and are sticking to it.
"It's been so much fun. Definitely, it's fun to see the growth, to get to where we are now."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
