John Jones-Imagn Images
Aug 22, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during the second half against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.
If the league had its way, the WNBA Finals would likely feature Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever squaring off with Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream.
Instead, Reese and her new team are in the finals, but instead of squaring off with Clark and company, they’ll take on the Golden State Valkyries, who are in just their second year of existence after joining the league in 2025.
While you’d think the lack of Clark’s immense drawing power would be a huge loss for both the league and the teams that are trying to sell tickets. As it turns out, that’s not the case at all.
WNBA Finals Ticket Prices Are Skyrocketing
Eli Kronenberg of Front Office Sports reports that the get-in price for Game 1 on Saturday at the Chase Center in San Francisco is $214, according to TicketData.
By comparison, the price for Game 1 between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces was just $34 last year, and the highest get-in price of the series was $82 for Game 2.
And while we know that the Bay Area is crazy about its basketball, it’s not just the Valkyries that are holding up their end of the bargain.
As of Thursday afternoon, the get-in price for Game 3 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta is $96, while Game 4 is at $114. That’s despite the fact that the league had to move both of those games from their originally scheduled times/dates and location due to scheduling conflicts.
“Historically, it’s typically been one team driving the higher prices, rather than both,” Keith Pagello of TicketData said of the costs. “So if you’re looking at the series as a whole, across all seven potential games in both cities, there’s a stronger argument to be made that this could be the most expensive Finals ever.”
So, yes, Clark is clearly an asset to the league and seemingly its biggest draw. But it certainly appears that the league is able to thrive with or without her, as much as some hate to hear it.