Despite being one of the worst teams in the league this year, the Washington Mystics pulled off a stunt by drawing a record attendance for their scheduled season finale against the Indiana Fever.
With Caitlin Clark and the Fever finishing their season on Thursday in Washington, D.C., the Mystics made the advantageous marketing decision to move the game to a larger venue: They moved the game to Capital One Arena, home of the NBA's Washington Wizards.
Washington usually plays its games at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights, a residential neighborhood in southeast Washington, D.C., which has a capacity of just 4,200.
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But Capital One Arena, in the city's larger Penn Quarter Chinatown neighborhood, has a maximum capacity of 20,356 for basketball games.
The Mystics had no problem filling the stands with Clark in attendance, despite having just 13 wins coming into the game.
Thursday's attendance of 20,711 fans set a new record for a WNBA regular-season game, breaking the previous regular-season record of 20,674 that Washington had set four times in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
The best part for the Mystics was that their fans got to watch the home team beat Clarks Fever 92-91.
The Las Vegas Aces did the same when they hosted the Fever in the larger T-Mobile Arena instead of the smaller Michelob Ultra Arena for their July 2 game. That game drew 20,366 fans, Best The largest attendance for a single regular season game since 1999.
But the Mystics almost didn't get it done. Clark was on the verge of receiving a one-game suspension for technical fouls this year. In the Fever's most recent game against the Dallas Wings, Clark nearly picked up his seventh technical foul of the season, which would have resulted in the rookie being suspended for one game.
During the game, Clark was walking down the court after a turnover. She looked up at the replay and immediately began complaining to the officials. Kelsey Mitchell put her arms out to stop Clark from going to the officials, while Aaliyah Boston pulled Clark away and yelled “no” to prevent her from receiving a technical foul.
Clark avoided a seventh technical foul and was able to bring in a large group of fans to watch Thursday night's game at Washington.
The attendance for Clark's season finale was the highest ever, a fitting end to a historic season in which the rookie broke numerous records.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reaches for the ball during a game against the Dallas Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollers/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
With her performance on Thursday, Clarke set the record for most points scored by a point guard in a single season in WNBA history. She also already holds the record for most points scored by a rookie and the league's single-season assists record.
Clark is the season record holder this year and also leads the league in assists, becoming the youngest player ever to lead the league in assists.
Clark also led the league in three-pointers this year, moving into second place all-time in a single season with 122.
Additionally, she broke the record for most All-Star votes in WNBA history and became the first rookie to record a triple-double.
Clark's attention and performance with the Fever helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years as one of the most popular teams in the league, with the Fever featuring in all 14 of the most-watched WNBA games this year.
Two of Clark's teammates spoke about how different it is playing with him this year in terms of the team atmosphere and name recognition.
Point guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters before Thursday's game that the public would know less about her without Clark, adding that she's accustomed to a more introverted approach to her job.
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Dallas Wings guard Jaycee Sheldon (4) guards Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
“Let's be realistic, without 'C Squared' (Clark's nickname), nobody would notice, so shout out to Caitlin!” Mitchell said when asked about gaining more attention and fans this season.
“She's done an incredible job of rallying her fans and people behind her, and I've always kept a low profile so I laugh about it but embrace it at the same time. I've always been a very conservative, introverted person and now I get to see the other side of it.”
Meanwhile, shooting guard Erica Wheeler told reporters that Clark's presence this season has forced the team to be more tolerant of scrutiny.
“All you can do with Caitlin Clark is plays. She doesn't take anything too seriously,” Wheeler said. “She always tells everybody she's really a kid at heart. … There are times when we have to be serious, and we do, but most of the time we have fun. You have to understand that the outside world was trying to get into this building, and we just didn't allow it.”
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