Caitlin Clark named 'Athlete of the Year' for 2024 by 'Time' magazine

WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark has yet another major honor on her résumé: Time magazine's 2024 Athlete of the Year.

With her signature long-range 3-point shots and her amazing passing skills, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff berth since 2016, while at the same time ushering in a new level of exposure and fandom for the league.

All this after leading the University of Iowa to a 34-5 record and the championship game of the women's NCAA Tournament while breaking the all-time Division I career scoring record.

The announcement was made Tuesday on NBC's Today show and in an accompanying article in the magazine.

With just a short break between the end of the college basketball season and the start of her pro career, Clark continued to shine as a rookie in the WNBA.

She set a rookie record for most 3-pointers made in a season, while also establishing WNBA marks for assists in a single game and in a season.

As Clark was taking the league by storm, overall attendance increased by 48% over last year to its highest level in more than two decades. The Fever broke the WNBA record for home attendance, and their regular-season finale against the Washington Mystics drew 20,711 fans, the most ever to witness a WNBA game.

In the interview with Time, Clark took pride in her role in the league's unprecedented growth: "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."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark named 'Time' Athlete of the Year for 2024