Caitlin Clark Named Time Athlete of the Year for 'Historic' 2024
2024 was quite the year for Caitlin Clark. The basketball superstar not only led Iowa back to the national championship game while also breaking the NCAA scoring record, but she then went on to become Rookie of the Year in the WNBA and took the league to new heights in the process.
Clark set all sorts of statistical benchmarks in her first professional season and was the seeming subject of endless discussion in doing so. So it's hard to imagine any athlete had a bigger and better year than she did. Which is exactly what Time magazine decided in honoring her as its 2024 Athlete of the Year.
Caitlin Clark is TIME's Athlete of the Year https://t.co/WtgLuIIYhb pic.twitter.com/oGDewhUPcB
— TIME (@TIME) December 10, 2024
The selection noted what was previously outlined above, including the record ratings and attendance numbers the Fever star produced. All of which helped make the WNBA rank as the fastest growing brand of 2024. With experts attributing a huge portion of that to Clark's influence. She also secured an unprecedented deal with Nike in quickly becoming the face of her sport.
That's in addition to the aforementioned on court achievements. Clark not only broke Pete Maravich's collegiate scoring mark, but she set the WNBA record for assists in a season. Nabbing an All-WNBA first team spot in the process. It would require another article to list the rest of her rookie achievements.
Clark dubbed her year "historic" in the piece recognizing her achievements. And that cannot be argued against. She also is aware of the attention she brought to the women's game telling Time, “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's not wrong. Neither is her selection. Because Caitlin Clark certainly had the most unforgettable year for an athlete in 2024, as it was indeed one for the history books.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!