Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever during separate WNBA games in the 2026 season.
The Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty both have some of the biggest stars in the WNBA. The one thing that neither one has, however, is Caitlin Clark.
And that fact was glaringly obvious when looking at the attendance numbers during Sunday afternoon’s WNBA playoff semifinal between the two teams at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Dream walked away with a 92-82 victory to take a 1-0 series lead in front of 9,745 fans, which is an objectively impressive number for the growing lead.
However, it doesn’t touch the number of fans who attended the two regular-season games when Atlanta played host to Clark and the Indiana Fever.
No matter how critical I’ve been of Cathy Engelbert’s repeated & erroneous attempts to favorably compare Angel Reese to Caitlin Clark’s drawing power, this is a surprise: Curtains up because only 9,745 came to NY-ATL playoff. But two Clark regular-season games? 17,044 both times. https://t.co/HBEAl6H8wW
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) October 4, 2026
In both of those games, Atlanta sold out State Farm Arena, filling 17,044 seats. For Monday night’s game, they opted to curtain off the upper deck of the arena and sell tickets only in the lower bowl.
Atlanta Dream Says Attendance Had Nothing To Do With Caitlin Clark
In closing off the upper deck, Atlanta reignited the years-long argument over Clark’s importance to the league. Some argued that it showed just how much the WNBA needs Clark. Meanwhile, others argued that arenas have been “full” across the league for the league during the playoffs.
The Dream, specifically, told Front Office Sports that the decision to curtain off the upper deck had nothing to do with Clark.
“We just decided that with the short turnaround, we would only open the lower bowl and really concentrate on selling those tickets,” a spokesperson for the team said.
Atlanta clinched its spot in the semifinals on the Wednesday prior with a 93-75 victory over the Washington Mystics, giving it four days to sell semifinal tickets.
Notably, the Dream also sold out two home games against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces (and WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson) and one against the Chicago Sky.
So, while Clark is obviously a huge draw, it appears she’s not the only big draw in the league. Perhaps the team should consider opening up the upper deck for Game 2 on Wednesday?