Courtesy of People.com
Coming off a historic collegiate career and her dominant first season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark has been named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year. Clark joins the likes of Lionel Messi, Aaron Judge, Simone Biles, LeBron James, and the United States women’s national soccer team in receiving this honor.
One of the most popular women in sports right now, and possibly ever, Clark has brought many new fans to NCAA women’s basketball and the WNBA. 2024 was a successful year for Clark both collegiately and professionally.
In the 2023-24 season she finished her fourth year with the Iowa Hawkeyes, breaking many records in the program and nationally. She became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, broke the Big Ten all-time scoring record, surpassed Steph Curry for most three-pointers made in a single season by any NCAA Division I player, became the NCAA Division I women’s career scoring leader and the all-time leader in points among major women’s collegiate players, and became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer among men’s or women’s players. Clark finished her collegiate career with 3,951 points.
Clark was the unanimous 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year, named national player of the year for the second straight season, received AP Player of the Year, received the Honda Sports Award (awarded to the best woman collegiate athlete in each of twelve sports), received the John R. Wooden Award (awarded to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players), named the Naismith College Player of the Year (awarded to the top men’s and women’s college basketball players), named United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year (awarded to the top Division I women’s basketball player), awarded the Wade Trophy (awarded to the best upperclass women’s Division I basketball player), won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top women’s Division I point guard, and was unanimously named as a first-team All-American. She was also nominated for three 2024 ESPY Awards, and won Best Female College Athlete and became the first woman to win Best Record-Breaking Performance.
In other words, Clark’s collegiate career was incredible and historic.
Clark was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, selected by the Indiana Fever. Clark’s impact on her team and the league was immediate.
In her first WNBA game, Clark led her team with 20 points. She set the Fever’s single-game record with 17 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds in just her 18th professional game. She also became the first Fever player and first WNBA rookie to record a triple-double, and lead the Fever to a victory over the New York Liberty with 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds. She set the WNBA single-game record in assists, broke the record for points produced in a game when she scored or assisted on 66 points in a game, broke the record for WNBA rookie assist record which sat at 225 for 26 years, broke the record for rookie three-pointers, broke the WNBA single-season assist record, scored 35 points in a game to break the rookie scoring record, and had a league high 122 three-pointers which is the second-most in a season in WNBA history. With Clark, the Fever had their best season record, made the playoffs, and broke the WNBA record for home attendance by a single franchise.
Clark added even more accolades to her record breaking 2024. She was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and made the All-WNBA First Team.
Clark was a fan favorite in college and brought a lot of attention to the WNBA. When she was selected to play in the WNBA All-Star Game, she received 700,735 votes, the most of any player in the league. Like NCAA women’s basketball, the WNBA also saw significant boosts in attendance and viewership during Clark’s first season. Clark’s talent and popularity has led her to become the face for women in sports, something she uses to support women’s sports and give recognition to those who paved the way for her.
Clark recognizes the privilege she has as a white woman in her sport and how integral Black women are in the WNBA. She said in her interview with Time, “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
Clark is also quick to call out any inappropriate questions asked to her or about her, and points out the double standard between the NBA and WNBA when it comes to how the media discusses players and their interactions during games. Clark recognizes the platform she has and the effect her words will have on fans, other players, and ultimately the game as a whole. At the same time, the league needs to take on responsibility and step up to make a better place for all of its athletes.
As Clark’s professional career continues and she breaks more records, hopefully WNBA viewership and attendance records continue to break too, and even more fans continue to tune in to the league as it expands.
Courtesy of Time
Edited by Giana Robertaccio
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