The popularity of women’s basketball, and women’s sports in general, has soared in 2024, and it is without a doubt that Caitlin Clark can be thanked for that.
Not only was Clark the most famous female athlete in the last 12 monthsTime named him Athlete of the Year, a title held by world stars such as Lionel Messi, LeBron James, Simone Biles, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods in recent years.
Clark began the year at the end of his college dance career record. As a senior at Iowa, he was several months removed from losing the national championship to Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers, where Reese’s “You Can’t See Me” joke was the unofficial start of a rivalry both on and off the court (although Clark, herself, will tell you there is nothing between them).
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks to the media during an introductory press conference on April 17, 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
However, the gesture prompted a lot of discussion, which turned into more culture wars this summer with Clark as a WNBA player. That, however, did not come before her set the NCAA record (both men and women) for most points scored in a college career and another national championship appearance.
In April, she was the No. 1 overall pick and practically as soon as she stepped on a WNBA court, the conversation began about whether her popularity was due to her race. In fact, it was a statement that WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson had made, saying that Clark being white was a “big thing” when it came to Clark’s popularity.
Throughout the season, however, Clark was able to block out rumors about what was being said about her off the court, even when it appeared she was being attacked on the court by her opponents. The harsh fouls came amid allegations of racism from Indiana Fever and Iowa fans, a statement made from the aforementioned Reese.
But Clark had said time and time again that he was focused on basketball, and that seemed to be the case. In her rookie season, she not only broke rookie records, but also WNBA records now bear Clark’s name.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during a WNBA first-round basketball playoff game against the Suns, Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Clark’s appearances in games have brought historic insight to the collegiate and professional levels. The last three games of her college career were the most watched women’s college basketball games ever. He also had several of his regular season games more viewers than WNBA playoff gamesand her WNBA matchups with Reese were some of the most watched WNBA games ever.
WNBA teams have also had to move into bigger arenas simply because of the ticket demand that Clark has drawn; the Fever sold 90 times more tickets this past year than in 2023.
Clark was called Rookie of the year for his historic campaign during which he set the record for most assists in a season in league history. He led the Fever to a playoff appearance after a slow start, and quickly became a double-double machine. He also set a single game record with 19 assists. She also became the first rookie to record a triple-double, recording two of them.
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever celebrates during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 24, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena in California. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
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She received the most votes for the All-Star Game and was only the fifth rookie in league history to make the All-WNBA first team.
It goes without saying that Clark is on his way to an illustrious career, and even more impressive is what he’s done this year with all the hype out there.
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2024-12-31 15:00:00
