She wasn’t chosen for the US Olympic team, but Caitlin Clark’s historic 2024 was nonetheless superlative. And now, after winning Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year award and the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award, the sport’s biggest star has looked forward to AP Female Athlete of the Year honors for her impact. on and off the court.
After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft as expected and earned league rookie of the year honors. Fans filled sold-out stadiums and millions of viewers tuned in to their journey.
Clark’s exploits were far-reaching and shed light on other women’s sports leagues along the way.
His honor comes after it sparked a fierce debate. about his acceptance speech as TIME Athlete of the Year last week. In her interview with the magazine, the 22-year-old said the WNBA “has been built on” black players and that “as a white person, there are privileges.”
His comments have drawn heavy criticism from some quarters, particularly from commentator and podcast host Megyn Kelly, who lamented Clark’s “self-flagellation.”
A group of 74 Associated Press sportswriters and their members voted to award the award. Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was second with 25 and boxer Imane Khelif was third with four votes.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during a first round WNBA basketball playoff game
Clark is only the fourth basketball player to be honored as the female athlete of the year since it was first introduced in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995) and Candace Parker (2008, 2021).
“I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who came before me and to be honored in this way is super special and I’m grateful,” Clark said in a phone interview. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and sports.”
Shohei Ohtani won the AP Male Athlete of the Year award for the third time on Monday.
Clark broke the NCAA Division I scoring record for both men and women and finished her career with 3,951 points while leading Iowa to its second consecutive national championship game. After her Hawkeyes lost to South Carolina for the title, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley took the microphone during her team’s celebration and said, “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for elevating our sport.”
Despite all the success Clark has had and the attention she has brought to women’s basketball, she is often the centerpiece of online debates and toxicity toward her and other players in the league.
For his part, Clark has disavowed toxic speech.
Lobo was also impressed with the way Clark, 22, handled the pressure and attention that came his way.
‘I would say that he has overcome it almost without problems. “He hasn’t made any big mistakes or lapses in expression at a time when you’re under constant scrutiny,” Lobo said. “She seems to say and do all the right things. That’s just incredible at a time when there is constant attention and scrutiny. She hasn’t done anything to tarnish that kind of kind personality she has.’
While Clark handled the praise (and negative reactions) during the heat of the competition, he found it difficult to appreciate what he was able to accomplish over the past year. But after having time to reflect on the whirlwind tour, he appreciates those who were by his side during the journey.
“I’m grateful for the people I got to do it with,” Clark said. ‘A year ago I was still in the first part of my final year at university. …How quickly things change, and now I can see what a wonderful college season it was.’
Clark gestures with his heart after the NCAA college basketball game against Michigan.
Iowa sold out its home and road games with Clark as the star attraction. That momentum continued in the pros. His No. 22 jersey prevailed wherever he played during his rookie season and will be retired at Iowa.
“I would be remiss not to acknowledge how crazy his fan base is and the looks he gets with everything he does,” said Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was often seen on the court at Clark’s Indiana games. Fever. ‘It’s a different kind of popularity, she is one of the most popular athletes in the world. It’s not just about women’s sports anymore.
“It’s really cool to see and she handles it with a lot of grace.”
Clark said he likes to spend time with fans at games, and usually takes a few minutes before and after games to sign autographs.
“It’s still a lot of fun for me,” he said. ‘Whether it’s 15 seconds, 10 seconds or 5 seconds, they can have a huge impact on a girl and boy’s life. Seeing the fans going crazy an hour before kickoff, I never take it for granted. “That’s great and I don’t ever want that to go away.”
After a slow start to her WNBA career, Clark finally found her stride there as well. She set the record for assists in a single game with 19 and also had 337 assists on the season to break that mark as well. Clark, known for her logo-range 3-pointers, was the fastest player to reach 100 3-pointers when she did so in 34 games, helping Indiana reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Lobo, who won AP Women’s Athlete of the Year after leading UConn to its first national championship, was on the court for the launch of the WNBA two years later. The ESPN analyst sees Clark’s rise as something different.
Caitlin Clark speaks on stage during the 2024 A Year in TIME dinner at Current at Chelsea Piers
“It has brought unprecedented attention both in the building and in the audience to the sport that was worthy of it but didn’t have it yet,” Lobo said. ‘There has never been anything like this.
‘That period of time from 1995 to 1997 was a small step in the progression of all of this. This is a big step forward. I’ve never seen anything like this. There is more attention than sports ever had.”
The numbers have broken records when Clark is part of a broadcast:
- Television viewership in the WNBA increased 300% thanks in large part to Clark, as ABC, CBS, ION, ESPN and ESPN2 had record ratings when Fever games were broadcast.
- The NCAA women’s championship surpassed the men’s championship on television for the first time in the sport’s 42-year history, with 18.9 million viewers tuning in to watch the event. It was the second most watched women’s sporting event outside of the Olympic Games in American television history.
- The 2024 WNBA draft was the most watched in league history with 2.4 million viewers.
Clark credits the community of female athletes for the rise in popularity of women’s sports, saying “we” did this or “we” did that when asked about it.
“It’s fascinating, you don’t always appreciate how many people 18 million is,” Clark said. ‘You see that number at a college football game or the Masters or whatever in terms of the biggest sporting events in our country and it puts it into perspective. We surpassed the men’s Final Four.