The popularity of women's basketball, and women's sports in general, has skyrocketed in 2024, and there is no doubt that Caitlin Clark You can thank him for that.
Clark wasn't just the most popular athlete Over the past 12 monthsTime magazine chose her as Female Athlete of the Year, a title that has been held by international 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 her record-breaking playing career. As a senior at Iowa State, she was several months away from losing the national championship to Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers, where Reese's “You Can't See Me” quip served as the unofficial start to the rivalry on and off the field (although Clark will tell you Itself that there is no such thing between them).
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks to the media during an introductory news conference on April 17, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
However, the gesture sparked a lot of debate, which turned into more culture wars this summer with Clark as a WNBA player. But this did not come before her Set an NCAA record (both men and women) for most points scored in a college career and one other national championship appearance.
In April, she was the No. 1 overall pick, and once she stepped onto the WNBA court, talk began about whether her popularity was due to her race. In fact, this was a claim made by WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, saying that Clark being white was tantamount to… “bumper” When it comes to Clark's popularity.
However, throughout the season, Clarke managed to drown out the noise around what was said about her off the court, even when it seemed like she was being attacked on the court by her opponents. The critical fouls came amid allegations of racism from Indiana Fever and Iowa fans, an allegation By the aforementioned president.
But Clark has repeatedly reiterated that she is focused on basketball, and that certainly appears to be the case. In her rookie season, she not only broke rookie records, but even WNBA records now hold Clark's name.
Indiana Fever guard Kaitlin Clark reacts during a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Sun, on Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hale)
Clark's appearances at the games brought historic viewership at both the college and professional levels. The final three games of her college career were the most watched women's college basketball games ever. She also tied several regular season games More viewers than WNBA playoff gamesand her WNBA showdown with Reese was one of the most watched WNBA games of all time.
WNBA teams even had to move to larger arenas just for the ticket demand drawn by Clark. Fever It sold 90 times more tickets Last year compared to 2023.
Clark was named Rookie of the year For her historic campaign during which she set the record for the most assists in a single season in league history. She carried the Fever to a playoff appearance after a slow start, and quickly became a double-double machine. She even 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 in the All-Star Game and was the fifth rookie in league history to make the All-WNBA First Team.
It goes without saying that Clarke is on her way to an illustrious career, and what's even more impressive is what she's done this year with all the outside hype.
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