Why Caitlin Clark was the most influential athlete of 2024

Time Magazine named Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark Athlete of the Year for 2024, and it’s easy to understand why. The women’s basketball phenom had her every move analyzed and dissected. Love her or hate her, people took an interest into what she was doing, which is why she’s the most influential athlete of 2024. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Caitlin Clark’s tour de force in 2024 started when she was still in college, playing for the University of Iowa. She finished out her final season by breaking records that didn’t seem possible to approach in this day and age. AP News and many others noted that Clark topped Pete Maravich’s all-time career NCAA scoring record of 3,667 points, which had withstood the test of time since 1970.

Clark told ESPN after accomplishing the feat, “It’s really crazy to think about. Honestly, if you would have told me that before my college career started, I would’ve laughed in your face and been like ‘No, you’re insane.’” She broke the record at the free throw line, which former Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder was happy about. She told ESPN, “Go back to fundamentals, everybody, right?”

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As if Clark’s exploits during the regular season weren’t enough, the hoops prodigy led her team to another appearance in the Final Four. Although the Hawkeyes weren’t able to reach the title game, Clark’s mere presence helped shatter other records. ESPN PR noted that the game had 14.2 million viewers, which made it the most watched NCAA women’s basketball game ever.

The tidal wave of Caitlin Clark fanfare and attention was about to topple over into the WNBA, although no one really knew how pronounced it would be at the next level. As it turns out, the momentum only continued to pick up. According to The New York Times, the 2024 WNBA Draft smashed records with 2.4 million viewers. Clark was selected first overall that evening by the Indiana Fever.

People couldn’t get their hands on Clark related merchandise fast enough as soon as she entered the WNBA. Sports Media Reporter Darren Rovell noted that Fanatics sold out of Clark’s number 22 jersey in nearly all sizes in just one hour. Additionally, the WNBA put 36 out of 40 Fever regular season games on national television in hopes of maximizing the interest level in the sport.

Things didn’t get off to the best start in Indiana, as the team’s record plummeted to 1-8 in their first nine games. With that said, the team showed marked improvement in June, and for the rest of the season. Clark’s production also started to drastically spike as she became more familiar with the WNBA game.

Many believed that Clark’s historic year would continue during the 2024 Olympics, as the phenom was often brought up by fans as a lock for the United States women’s basketball team. When she wasn’t selected, a huge uproar ensued, and questions arose about whether USA basketball really selected the 12 best players.

Sports fans don’t always recognize the accomplishments of WNBA players in the same light, but it’s fair to say that Clark’s shooting ability rivals some of the NBA’s best marksmen. Erin Achenbach from Clutch Points noted that Clark’s average three-point shooting distance of just over 28 feet as a rookie was farther away than the average three pointers taken by Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Trae Young.

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Clark’s special shooting ability tends to be what draws people in, but it was her superb skill of setting up teammates that broke WNBA records in 2024. She broke the league’s single-season assist record in September on a pass to fellow Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell. Clark made opponents who were paying too much attention to her pay by finding open teammates.

There are so many ways to slice the monumental impact Clark had during her rookie WNBA season, but perhaps Yahoo Sports captured one of the best contextual figures. The WNBA had 23 games that drew over one million viewers during the 2024 season, and Caitlin Clark appeared in 20 of them.

While there are great athletes in every professional sport, it’s hard to argue that Clark’s impact was surpassed by any of them. The WNBA even implemented charter flights full-time for all of its teams this season, which is something that the league had resisted for years. It’s likely not an accident that this happened during the season Clark arrived.

Fans came out in droves to support Clark during the summer months, and that was evident during All-Star voting. According to Sports Illustrated, Clark received 700,735 votes, which was more than any other WNBA player had ever received. The volume of support made her an automatic All-Star starter.

It’s fair to say that the WNBA also benefitted handsomely from Clark’s burgeoning status. As ESPN reported, the league agreed to an 11-year, $2.2 billion television rights deal during the summer of 2024. Partnerships with Disney, Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal helped fund the landmark agreement.

The amount of attention Caitlin Clark received in 2024 could have broken a lot of athletes, but she was able to take everything in stride. Being able to deal with pressure on and off the floor bodes well for Clark, whose profile only stands to grow in the years to come.

Was Caitlin Clark truly the most influential athlete in 2024? Drop us a comment if you agree, or let us know who else should have been considered!

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