WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark has yet another major honor on her resume: Time Magazine’s 2024 Athlete of the Year.
With her long-range 3-point shooting and incredible passing skills, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff berth since 2016, while ushering in a new level of visibility and fandom for the league.
All this after leading the University of Iowa to a 34-5 record and the NCAA women’s tournament championship game while break all-time Division I career record.
The announcement was made on Tuesday NBC’s Today show and in an accompanying article in the magazine.
With only a short break between the end of the college basketball season and the start of her professional career, Clark continued to shine as a rookie in the WNBA.
She set a rookie record for most 3-pointers made in a season, while also setting WNBA marks for assists in a single game and in a season.
As Clark took the league by storm, overall attendance increased 48% from last year to its highest level in more than two decades. The Fever broke the WNBA record for home attendance and their regular season finale against the Washington Mystics drew 20,711 fans, the most ever for a WNBA game.
In the interview with TimeClark was proud of her role in the league’s unprecedented growth: “I was able to captivate so many people who had never watched women’s sports, let alone women’s basketball, and turn them into fans. “
The USA TODAY app quickly takes you to the heart of the news. Download for award-winning cover art, crossword puzzles, audio narrations, e-journal and much more..
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark named 2024 “Time” Athlete of the Year
