Caitlin Clark has been named TIME Athlete of the Year for 2024 after her record-breaking rookie season in the WNBA.
Clark, who was the first overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, went on to smash countless records in her debut campaign for the Indiana Fever while bringing unprecedented attention to women’s basketball.
Before moving up to the big leagues, she also became the highest points scorer in college-basketball history with former school Iowa, where she signed off with another appearance in the championship showpiece.
The 22-year-old sensation is generating more interest in the women’s game than ever before after a staggering 18.9 million people tuned in for that March Madness finale against South Carolina – going down as the second most-watched female sporting event in US history.
Her unique appeal has followed her to the professional ranks, too, with Clark’s Fever appearing in the most-watched WNBA games ever on a number of networks last season.
As a result, TIME has named the women’s basketball icon as their most influential athlete of 2024, becoming the second individual female star to scoop the award along with gymnastics great Simone Biles (2021).
Caitlin Clark has been named TIME Athlete of the Year after her record-breaking WNBA season
No. 1 draft pick Clark set a host of WNBA records in her rookie campaign with the Indiana Fever
When asked to sum up her year, Clark chose the word ‘historic’ before adding: ‘I’ve been able to captivate so many people that have never watched women’s sports, let alone women’s basketball, and turn them into fans.’
She also said: ‘Personally, I’m just scratching the surface of what I can do and hopefully how I can change the world and impact people.
‘There’s also been so many people that are not involved in women’s sports, that are just in the workforce, or whatever they do, and they’re just like, ‘Thank you for what you do for women.’ I’ve heard that a million times.’
TIME’s Sean Gregory said: ‘Good luck naming another player who altered the trajectory of their entire team sport within five months on the job.
‘Lionel Messi had a monumental influence on Major League Soccer when he arrived in Miami last year, but he was in year 20 of his pro career. Michael Jordan energized the NBA in the mid-1980s, but Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had already put the league on solid footing.
‘While other female athletes have pushed the limits of human achievement and created their own cultures—Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and the stars of the U.S. women’s national soccer team all come to mind—the Clark phenomenon is still unprecedented.’
