Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark added another accolade to her ever-growing list on Tuesday when she was named Time's Athlete of the Year. Clark is the first WNBA player to earn the honor, which was first introduced in 2019 as an addition to the publication's Person of the Year honor.
During a historic 2024, Clark led the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA national championship game for the second consecutive season, was named Naismith Player of the Year, became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, took the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, made the All-Star Game, the All-WNBA First Team and was named WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Along the way, she became the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball, men or women, set the WNBA's single-game and single-season assist records, became the first rookie to record a triple-double (she finished with two) and broke the rookie scoring and 3-point records.
Clark's singular brilliance has helped elevate women's basketball, on both the collegiate and professional levels. Viewership, ticket sales and merchandise sales surged in the past year, thanks in large part to the broad interest in Clark and her exploits.
"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," Clark said.
Clark's sudden rise to fame did not come without downsides. She was the subject of numerous on-and-off-court controversies, including multiple instances in which opponents delivered hard fouls that were blown out of proportion in the media.
"I never thought I was being targeted," Clark said. "Obviously, [getting hip-checked to the ground by Chennedy Carter] shouldn't ever happen within a game. But basketball is physical. Your emotions can get the best of you. My emotions have gotten the best of me many times... A lot of people that wanted to have opinions on what was happening probably didn't even watch half the games that they were trying to have a take on and hadn't supported the W for a really long time."
Throughout the season, her "fans," or at least those claiming to be, attacked other players and made racist and misogynistic claims, particularly online. Clark's response, or lack therof, became another consistent talking point. "It's not something I can control," Clark said of online vitriol in June, "and to be honest, I don't see a lot of it."
Speaking to Time, Clark addressed the topic in more depth.
"I want to say I've earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege," Clark said. "A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it's very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing."
Even after the WNBA season ended, Clark's name has remained in headlines. She was the star attraction at an LPGA tournament when she participated in the pro-am, has been seen at Taylor Swift concerts and was heavily courted by Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, which will begin play next month.
Clark decided to pass on Unrivaled and will instead focus on spending the winter playing golf and preparing for the 2025 season. The Fever have a new coach in Stephanie White and the flexibility to add to an exciting young roster.
"Personally, I'm just scratching the surface of what I can do and hopefully how I can change the world and impact people," Clark said. "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."
