[discostu]

Of course it’s actually much more complicated than that. The fact is the women’s college game has been getting better, more competitive, more fun, and the players stick around. For all the post pandemic years the journos have been talking about the women’s tournament being more entertaining than the men’s. Add to that the fact that Clark set a bunch of career records this year that rewrite the record book for all college basketball, not just the women’s game, that generated a lot of press. Now the fact that she’s basically nice, not showboaty, and good in interviews doesn’t hurt. But it’s a lot more complicated than “white girl brings good ratings”.

[Kazan]

Her popularity more about the fact that Clark is more representative of the nation and American women than the average WNBA players. She's heterosexual and has a boyfriend rather than an obnoxious lesbian. She proudly stands for the national anthem and isn't an anthem-kneeling Marxist with hatred for the country. She's well spoken and a good role model for young girls.

All that combined with her incredible talent is the reason she's vastly more popular than any women's player in history.