Caitlin Clark was perhaps the single-most impactful reason as to why the women's basketball national championship game generated more viewers than its men's counterpart and as to why the WNBA has begun chartering flights for road games.
She's also transformed WNBA betting, and the season hasn't even started yet.
The Indiana Fever — which drafted Clark No. 1 overall earlier this year — open the WNBA season with a game against the Connecticut Sun tonight at 7:30 p.m. That game already has eight times as many wagers on it relative to the Fever's first game in 2023, according to a source at BetMGM. That's seven hours from tipoff, with plenty of last minute bets yet to come.
And Clark-related props are among the most popular bets in all of sports on Tuesday — namely, on her to do well in her WNBA debut.
Clark to record over 20.5 points is the most bet player prop in basketball today — beating out all player props from the defending NBA champions and the largest media market in New York City with the Knicks, according to BetMGM. Of course, her props also beat out any player from the team she shares a home arena with: the Indiana Pacers, who face off against the Knicks from Madison Square Garden in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
On account of the immense action, Clark's points prop has already moved up to 21.5, with the over juiced at -105 and the under at -125.
At FanDuel, Clark to put up 5 or more three-pointers and to record 25 or more points are the most popular WNBA props on the docket at America's most popular sportsbook.
BetMGM also indicates that Clark to register over 3.5 three-pointers and Clark to record over 6.5 assists are among the most popular props for the day, too.
At FanDuel, 84% of the total bets and 61% of the total handle are on the underdog Fever to beat the Sun on Tuesday night. At BetMGM, 63% of all bets are on the Fever to win. Remember, this is a team that went just 13-27 last season.
This Clark-related mania has trickled down to the rest of the WNBA, too. At Caesars, total bets on the WNBA were up 385% and total handle increased by 140% during the preseason, when Clark starred in two sell-out games, including a contest in front of a raucous 13,000 home fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
