2025 WNBA Draft Averaged 1.25M Viewers, 2nd-Most Behind Caitlin Clark's 2024 Class

Paige Bueckers headlined the second-most watched WNBA draft of all time.

An average of 1.25 million viewers tuned in to ESPN on Monday to see the Dallas Wings select Bueckers with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft, per ESPN PR.

Viewership peaked at 1.46 million and marked the second-highest total in league history, according to ESPN.

Two international stars earned top picks on Monday as Dominique Malonga went to the Seattle Storm at No. 2 and Justė Jocytė became the Golden State Valkyries' first-ever draft pick at No. 5.

Notre Dame's Sonia Citron and USC's Kiki Iriafen rounded out the top five by both going to the Washington Mystics.

The 2024 WNBA draft set the current league record when an average of 2.45 million viewers watched the Indiana Fever use the top pick to draft Caitlin Clark shortly after she became the leading scorer in NCAA basketball history.

The Fever-led draft, which peaked at 3.09 million viewers, topped the previous record by 307 percent.

The third-most watched WNBA draft took place in 2004, when the Phoenix Mercury drafted future franchise legend Diana Taurasi.

Like Taurasi, who led UConn to three straight national titles between 2002 and 2004, Bueckers capped off her college career by winning a championship with the Huskies.

The April 6 championship game between UConn and South Carolina averaged 8.5 million viewers and peaked at 9.9 million viewers, marking the third-largest audience since 2006, per the NCAA.

The 2024 WNBA set multiple regular-season and playoff viewership records. The spike in interest surrounding the league extended to game attendance, where record numbers at Fever games led to Indiana being scheduled to play in larger arenas ahead of Clark's second WNBA season in 2025.

The Wings ranked 11th out of 12 WNBA teams in average attendance last season, per Across the Timeline. That's exactly where the Fever ranked in 2023 before adding Clark in 2024.

The WNBA could now be hoping to see similar attendance and viewership spikes in Dallas ahead of Bueckers' rookie season. The 2025 regular season is set to tip off on Friday, May 16.