After an incredible WNBA Rookie of the Year campaign. indiana feverFormer Iowa Hawkeye point guard Caitlin Clark was nominated by TIME. 2024 Player of the Year.
Clark’s honor recognizes her historic efforts as the leader of the Iowa women’s basketball team, which qualified for a national championship for the second straight season and had a league-record-setting campaign for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors.
In her first professional season with the Indiana Fever, Clark averaged 19.2 points, WNBA-high 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.4 minutes per game. Along with leading the league in assists, Clark ranks first in 3-pointers made (122) and second in points per game and free throw percentage (90.6%). She ranked seventh overall in league scoring.
When TIME asked what his best moment from all of 2024 was, Clark struggled to pinpoint a single moment and instead recalled the wins from the national championship game against Iowa to his incredible rookie season with the Fever.
“I feel like a lot has happened over the past year, since the start of the college season. I didn’t know if it would actually be my last season or if I would make the decision to go back to college or turn pro. And now I’m sitting here, my first professional season is over, and so much has happened.
“And, you know, there’s a lot to be proud of, whether it’s making the national championship game or getting the Fever back to the playoffs for the first time in 2016. “It happens so quickly that it’s hard to appreciate it in the moment, it’s hard to understand it in the moment, but when you think about it, it’s fun,” Clark said.
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Clark’s athleticism on the court is incredible, but her appeal off the court is also a major factor in her winning Player of the Year honors.
The Fever, with Clark as their superstar, appeared in the most-watched WNBA game of all time last season on ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2. The WNBA also achieved an all-time high of more than 54 million unique viewers across all national broadcast platforms during the regular season, and the league’s overall attendance increased 48% year-over-year to its highest level in more than 20 years. .
Clark’s fame and influence allowed the Fever to break the WNBA home attendance record for a single franchise and even forced them to move games to NBA and NHL arenas in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. to accommodate large numbers of fans.
TIME’s Player of the Year award is highly regarded, but Clark will be focused on improving the Fever’s performance next season as they look to win the franchise’s first WNBA title since 2012.
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