Sky–Fever Game With Freedom Ejection Was WNBA’s Most Watched in Years
Enes Kanter Freedom was removed from Wintrust Arena at Sunday’s game.
In a game that drew the most viewers since the WNBA's inception in 1997, the Chicago Sky faced off against the Indiana Fever on Sunday, drawing 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. This marked the most-watched regular-season game since the league's first season, according to NBC. Last year's WNBA Finals averaged 1.5 million viewers over four games on ESPN networks.
The game was notable for an incident involving former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom. Ejected late in the third quarter after a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud, Freedom was removed from Wintrust Arena by security for "turning himself into a threat" by standing up and taking a step towards Cloud. Chicago has placed an indefinite ban on Freedom from attending the team's home games. However, the league does not ban him from attending other WNBA games as a fan.
Freedom, who last played in the NBA in 2022, has been vocal about his desire to enter the 2027 WNBA draft as a woman. His comments have been met with mixed reactions, as league sources told Front Office Sports that he is not eligible to play based on the current eligibility rules. Freedom is not the only former NBA player with aspirations to play in the WNBA; Royce White has also declared his intentions for the WNBA draft.
The game between the Fever and the Atlanta Dream on August 16 drew 2.6 million viewers on cable, making it the second most-watched regular-season WNBA game on television. High viewership for Fever-Sky games has been consistent since 2024, when Clark and Angel Reese entered the league.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
