A Rookie Season to Remember For Caitlin Clark
My Athlon Sports feature in the end-of-season commemorative issue: On Caitlin Clark's first season in the WNBA, being voted All-WNBA First Team, Rookie of the Year, and making the Fever relevant.
Before a new WNBA season tips off on Friday, it’s a good time to reflect on 2024. I contributed three stories to Athlon Sports’ end-of-season commemorative magazine, which features Caitlin Clark — who else? — on the cover with the headline "American Icon.”
I hope you were able to pick up a copy last fall.
If not, I’ll be sharing all three stories here for paid subscribers — along with two more from the 2025 season preview edition, which hit stores two weeks ago.
Caitlin Clark is known for her scoring, but she did a lot more than put up impressive stats during her rookie season in the WNBA.
The 22-year-old guard made the Indiana Fever relevant again, leading them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 — while simultaneously taking the league to unprecedented heights.
Clark’s scintillating talent and broad appeal were the rocket fuel that the league needed to take off in its 28th season. And it all started on February 29, 2024, when the University of Iowa product officially declared for the WNBA Draft just prior to senior night.
(Although she played four seasons for Iowa, she could have come back for a fifth season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
For two months, the Fever had eagerly awaited that moment.
On Dec. 10, 2023, the draft lottery fell their way, and for the fourth time in league history, the same team would be selecting No. 1 in back-to-back drafts (joining Las Vegas and Seattle 2x). The Fever selected Aliyah Boston, who went on to be the unanimous Rookie of the Year, one year earlier.
“The night she declared, somebody texted me, and I about fell out of my couch to tell you the truth,” Fever general manager Lin Dunn said. “I didn't know she would come out. I thought it was 50-50.”
Then on April 15, the draft was held at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Brooklyn. Tickets were available for the first time since 2016, and they sold out in about 15 minutes. Unprecedented demand and attention for a draft that used to be held in ESPN’s studios. Now there were lines out the door for both media and fans.
ESPN’s telecast drew 2.5 million viewers, an increase from the 572,000 from one year earlier, despite everyone knowing who would be selected first.
And so it begins.