Caitlin Clark garnered many achievements in the previous year, from the WNBA to magazines such as TIME. However, media organization Sports Illustrated didn’t recognize Clark as their Sportsperson of 2024, which, for Jason Whitlock, should have been given to the WNBA star.
SI instead gave the award to Olympian gymnast Simone Biles this Thursday. Like Clark, Biles also made a breakthrough last year, obtaining three gold medals and one silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, Whitlock argued that Biles’ achievements, achieved in two weeks of the Olympics, weren’t as prominent as Caitlin Clark’s achievements, which included her college and pro stints.
The veteran analyst raised Clark and an MLB World Series champion as the more qualified candidates for SI’s award.
“This is a joke. She [Biles] was relevant for 2 weeks this summer. Caitlin Clark and Shohei Ohtani were relevant for months,” Whitlock tweeted.
This is a joke. She was relevant for 2 weeks this summer. Caitlin Clark and Shohei Ohtani were relevant for months. https://t.co/8IaoFdpx0V
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) January 2, 2025
Despite Whitlock’s disapproval of Sports Illustrated’s choice, the news outlet never failed to recognize Biles’ achievements. Sports fans and experts consider the veteran gymnast one of the greatest in the sport and one of the USA’s most decorated athletes, with 32 gold medals.
Even if Caitlin Clark hadn’t received SI’s award, she still has been 2024’s highlight thanks to TIME awarding her as their Athlete of the Year. Clark will gain more accolades as her career continues to rise.
Caitlin Clark reveals favorite accolade with Kelce brothers
During her appearance on the “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark reveals TIME’s Athlete of the Year award as her favorite throughout her career.
Jason praised Clark’s accolades and asked about her most cherished award. The Indiana Fever star disclosed that she once dreamt of being an academic All-American at Iowa. Ultimately, she chose TIME’s award.
“The Time Athlete of the Year was cool too. Just because you see the list of all the athletes they had prior to me. A lot of those people I idolized growing up. LeBron’s been the only other basketball player,” Clark said.
caitlin clark is so incredibly humble it’s insane 😭🙏🏼 but yall heard her we gotta talk more about her academic success miss girl is a marketing genius ‼️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/sSLPTezxGY
— #22caitlinthegoat (@ccthegoat22) January 2, 2025
Caitlin Clark candidly spoke about being the Indiana Fever’s leader during her WNBA debut
Caitlin Clark notably led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016, rallying her teammates to reach an impressive record last season. However, she admitted the experience to be challenging.
In her appearance at the “New Heights” podcast, Clark revealed her fears about her comrades’ reactions to her leadership.
“I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how they’re going to react,” Clark said.
You could tell Caitlin didn’t want to come in and try to take over at the beginning of the year. Good clip pic.twitter.com/FwACWEEeAW
— Ken Swift (@kenswift) January 2, 2025
The last WNBA season was a milestone for Caitlin Clark as she brought the Fever to the postseason spotlight. Despite her fears, she proved to be a formidable force that her teammates could rely upon.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
