Mike Breen breaks down the difference between the WNBA now and before: "It's almost like two different sports"

Over two decades ago, it would have been hard to believe that the WNBA would have pulled in over 36 million viewers nationwide and an average of over 6,000 fans attending games. That was the number the league recorded last season; it will be more this campaign, and so will ticket sales with an increase of 20%.

This is all thanks to the advancement in the play, organization, and skill of the women’s game, which has hooked the entire basketball community.

Then vs. now

Everything looks different from when the first basketball game was played in the WNBA. Nowadays, players are shooting twice as many 3-pointers as when the league first tipped off. And while the scoring title has traditionally gone to a player netting between the 20 and 24 points per game range, A’ja Wilson is currently on track to shatter the record for the highest scoring average in WNBA history with an impressive 27.3 points per game.

“Back in '96, compared to now, the skill level is almost like two different sports,” said legendary NBA announcer Mike Breen. “Back then, the players were good. They were fundamentally sound, but there weren’t a lot of good shooters. Now everybody can shoot; everybody can handle. They've got range. They’ve got flair to their game.”

Players like rookie Caitlin Clark are proof of the innovation of the women’s game. The 22-year-old riding high on an impressive rookie season put on a show yet again recently, helping push the Indiana Fever to a gritty 104-100 overtime win against the Atlanta Dream.

Clark scored 26 points, including four clutch three-pointers, not to mention the impressive shot she sank at the start of the fourth quarter. Looping around an off-ball screen to break free, she nailed a falling three-pointer from the corner, with a Dream defender glued to her.

The growth of the WNBA

The WNBA officially had its first season in 1997. With only eight teams in the league, it wasn’t exactly action-packed. Before that, women’s basketball didn’t get much attention stateside; most of the big competitions were happening in Europe or through FIBA. But after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where Team USA dominated, the momentum started to shift. The formation of the WNBA soon after got people to sit up and finally start paying closer attention to the women’s game.

“When I first got into the business, I didn’t know and follow women’s basketball,” Breen added. “Whether on the college level, pro level, and clearly the pro level when I started was over in Europe, they didn’t have a WNBA back then. I get assigned to do the ‘96 Olympics for NBC… it opened my eyes on how good these women were. I had no idea that the level of talent in women’s basketball was that high.”

With the kind of players coming into the league these days, the WNBA is only raising the bar. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese , in just 32 games, snatched 405 rebounds and broke Sylvia Fowles's previous record.

Clark, meanwhile, already broke the rookie record for 3-pointers. She also set the single-season rookie record for assists, owns the single-game record for assists, and recorded the first triple-double in Fever history.

Caitlin and Angel are just two of the numerous talents proving that the new generation of WNBA is on course to make it better than it ever was.

Related: Caitlin Clark on WNBA teams chartering flights for their players this season: "It just makes life a lot easier for a lot of people"