Caitlin Clark has raised the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both the college and WNBA ranks, and on Tuesday she was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her influence on and off the court.
After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark became the top player in the WNBA Draft as expected and went on to win league honors. Fans packed sold-out stadiums and millions of television viewers tuned in to follow his journey. Clark’s career was far-reaching, lighting up other women’s sports leagues along the way.
A group of 74 Associated Press sports journalists and its members voted for the award. Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was second with 25 and boxer Imane Khelif was third with four votes.
Clark is only the fourth women’s basketball player to be honored as female athlete of the year since it was first introduced in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995) and Candace Parker (2008, 2021).
“I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who have come before me to be honored in this way, they are very special and I am grateful,” Clark said in a phone interview. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.”
Shohei Ohtani won AP Male Athlete of the Year on Monday for the third time.
Clark broke the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s career scoring record, finishing her career with 3,951 points while guiding Iowa to its second consecutive national championship game. After her Hawkeyes lost to South Carolina for the title, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley took the microphone during her team’s celebration and said, “I want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting our game.”
For all the success Clark has had and the attention she has brought to women’s basketball, she is often the center of controversy and online venom against her and other players in the league.
Clark, on the other hand, dismissed the toxic talk.
Lobo was also impressed with how the 22-year-old Clark handled the pressure and attention that came his way.
“I’d say he navigated it almost flawlessly. He didn’t make any big mistakes or misspoke when you’re always under the spotlight,” said Lobo. “He seems to be saying and doing all the right things. That’s amazing at a time when there’s always attention and scrutiny. He’s done nothing to tarnish the kind of personality he has.”
As Clark handled the praise – and the backlash – in the heat of the competition, it was difficult for him to appreciate what he was able to accomplish in the past year. But after having time to reflect on the whirlwind journey, he appreciates those who were with him on his journey.
“I’m thankful for the people I’ve done it with,” Clark said. “A while back I was at the beginning of my senior year in college. … How quickly things change, and now I realize how great the college season was.”
Iowa sold out all of its home and road games with Clark as the biggest attraction. That momentum continued for the better. His No. 22 jersey was a staple wherever he played during his rookie season and will be retired at Iowa.
“You wouldn’t believe how crazy his fans are and the eyes he gets on everything he does,” said Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is often seen courtside at Clark’s Indiana Fever games. “It’s a different kind of popularity, she’s one of the most famous athletes in the world. It’s not just women’s sports anymore.
“It’s really nice to see, and you treat it so kindly.”
Clark said he enjoys spending time with fans at games, often taking a few minutes before and after games to sign autographs.
“It’s still really fun for me,” he said. “Whether it’s 15 seconds or 10 seconds or 5 seconds it can have a huge impact on the life of a little girl and a little boy. To see the fans going crazy an hour before getting the news, I don’t take that lightly. That’s great and I don’t want that to happen. Go.”
After a slow start to her WNBA career, Clark finally found her stride there. He set the single-game assist record with 19 and had 337 assists in a season to break that mark. Clark, known for his logo-distance 3-pointers, was the fastest player to reach 100 3s when he did it in 34 games, helping Indiana reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Lobo, who won the AP female athlete of the year award after lifting UConn to its first national championship, was on the court at the launch of the WNBA two years later. The ESPN analyst sees Clark’s rise as something different.
“He brought unprecedented attention to the building, but also to the audience in a game that deserved it but didn’t have it yet,” said Lobo. “There has never been anything like this.
“That period from 1995-97 was a baby step in the progression of everything. This is a giant. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s more attention than there’s ever been in sports.”
The numbers have been record-breaking when Clark has been part of the broadcast:
– TV viewership for the WNBA is up 300% due in large part to Clark, with ABC, CBS, ION, ESPN and ESPN2 all having record viewers while the Fever games are on.
— The NCAA women’s championship game eliminated the men on television for the first time in the sport’s 42-year history, with 18.9 million viewers tuning in to watch the event. It was the second most-watched women’s sporting event outside of the Olympics in US television history.
– The 2024 WNBA draft was the most watched in league history with 2.4 million viewers.
Clark credits the female athletic community for the rise in popularity of women’s sports, saying “we” did this or “we” did that when asked about it.
“It’s interesting, you don’t always appreciate how many 18 million people are,” Clark said. “You see that number compared to a college football game or the Masters or whatever it is as far as major sporting events in our country and it puts it in perspective. We pulled off the men’s Final Four.”
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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