Caitlin Clark, the GOAT of college basketball who paralyzed the United States with an astronomical rating before the jump to the WNBA

About 20 thousand people They blew up on Sunday Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse of Cleveland, for the final of the women’s basketball championship of the United States university league. In the first rows of seats you could see celebrities, personalities from Hollywood and athletes and former athletes from the most diverse disciplines. An average of 18.7 million people tuned in on their televisions to follow live what was happening in that stadium and they transformed the game into the most watched sporting event in that country since 2019without counting the NFL and the Olympic Games. Until the huge LeBron James He was attentive to the match and shared his analyzes live on social networks. All because of Caitlin Clark.

the basis of Iowa1.83 meters tall, brought down the curtain on his extraordinary university career and no one wanted to miss his last performance in the USA shirt. Hawkeyes. Because? Because by dint of triples and records, the one born in Des Moines 22 years ago revolutionized women’s basketball in the NCAAtransformed it into a show as popular as itself NBA and she made him grow like no player before.

His figure is so great that, when he left the court, with 20 seconds left and with the defeat against South Carolina sentenced (it was 85-77), she was applauded by the entire stadium. And during the award ceremony, Dawn Staleycoach of the champion team, took a couple of minutes to recognize her: “I want to personally thank Caitlin for elevating our league. You carry the burden of our sport and I know you will also elevate the WNBA. You are one of the GOATS (Greatest of all time) in our sport.”

Clark’s numbers during his time in the NCAA are astonishing. In Sunday’s final, he scored 30 points, 18 of which came in the first quarter, an unprecedented mark in that tournament. He averaged 31.6 points per game in his final season, in which he totaled 1,234. In her entire NCAA career she accumulated 3,951 points, which made her the leading scorer in Division I college basketball, for both women and men.

elected twice “Player of the year” (2023 and 2024) and most outstanding collegiate athlete of any gender and sport last year, Caitlin is a basketball player with a difference. Her talent for playing with the ball, making spectacular passes with precision and speed, and setting up a shot from her dribble (something she drew comparisons to Stephen Curry) differentiated her from her colleagues and rivals. And her offensive style, with a lethal outside shot that can connect from anywhere on the court (this season she added a record 201 triples, most of them converted from distance in the NBA), transformed her into a nightmare for defenses.

“If you don’t go crazy over Caitlin Clark’s game, you’re a total hater!!! Stay away from those people! Please,” LeBron wrote on Twitter during Sunday’s final.

“Caitlin can do practically everything on the court, score from any angle, shoot deep three-pointers and generate for her teammates. But she also has that fighting side. She tries to do everything for her team because she can’t lose,” he analyzed last year Kevin Durantfigure of Phoenix.

Clark’s only outstanding score was the title. He played in two finals and lost both (last year, Louisiana State spoiled his party). That is why many refuse to recognize her as the best player in the history of college basketball. However, her legacy goes beyond statistics.

“People will probably remember our two lost finals and things like that, but not every win or every loss. I think they will only remember the moments they shared in one of our matches. Or watching them on television. Or how excited their little children were to see women’s basketball. That’s great and that’s what means the most to me. It’s super special to see your impact not only in Iowa but across the country. To be able to have that influence on the next generation is really cool,” she said.

Clark’s exceptional career began as those of so many American athletes begin. The sport caught her when she was very young. She played softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis and golf (which she continues to play quite well), before focusing on basketball, which she had discovered at age 5. At first she competed in boys’ leagues, because her father couldn’t find one for girls for her age. And at 13, she was already playing (and shining) in women’s tournaments with girls much older than her.

When she was just 15 years old she received her first letter from a university that was interested in recruiting her. It was the first of many. When she had to choose, she considered accepting his proposal. Our Ladybut ended up leaning towards Iowa. Everything that happened from then on was a story worthy of a legend.

As soon as she arrived at the NCAA in 2020, the year in which endorsement deals for individual athletes were given the green light, Clark became a brand favorite. Today she is the player who makes the most money from sponsorship in college basketball, only behind Bronny James, LeBron’s son. Thanks to his agreements with firms such as Gatorade, Buick y Nike, receives more than 3 million dollars per year. If she signs with a WNBA team, during her first four years she could not earn more than 350 thousand per season, due to the league’s salary caps.

In her four years with the Hawkeyes, Caitlin managed to transform women’s college basketball into a spectacle that seduced everyone, men and women, fans of this sport and people with little interest in the orange ball, natives of Iowa and all corners of United States and the world. The Clark-mania expanded at a dizzying pace.

Iowa played to a full stadium – 15,000 spectators – all of its home games and almost all (except two) away games in its last season with the team. To size it: Vegas SteelsWNBA champions, averaged just over 9,500 people at their home games last year.

Their final three games broke the record for the largest television audience in the history of NCAA women’s basketball. And the final, which had peaks of 24 million viewers, meant an increase of 89 percent compared to the 2023 title duel and 285 percent compared to 2022, in which Clark did not compete.

Is another comparison worth it? The fourth game of the 2023 WNBA finals, which took place in Las Vegas, was the highest-rated match in that league in 20 years, with almost 890,000 viewers, with peaks of just 1.3 million. Another testament to the unprecedented impact of Clark, the basketball prodigy who is now a legend.

The end of Clark’s college career is just a new beginning. Coaches, players and experts are confident that Caitlin will leave her mark on the history of American sports and she will go down in the books as one of the greatest of all time. And the Iowa base won’t have to wait long to start writing its new and promising era.

In just a few weeks you will be able to take an important step in your professional career. On April 15 in New York the WNBA Draft and Clark will be – barring a capital surprise – the number 1 choice. Her presence generated so much expectation that for the first time since 2016, the women’s league put tickets for the ceremony on sale. The thousand that were available were sold out in 15 minutes. Last week, at resales the cheapest tickets were $340.

Indianawho will have the chance to make the first choice, has already organized a party for his fans at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse from Indianapolis to celebrate the imminent arrival of Clark, with whom the franchise hopes to reverse a difficult present. In 2023, the Fever they finished 10th out of 12 teams, with a record of 13-27.

Halfway through the year, Clark could also fulfill a dream. Because the chance is still open for him to be part of the American team that will go to Paris to seek his eighth consecutive Olympic gold. Caitlin is the only one of the 14 pre-selected players who played this season in the university league, the other 13 are WNBA figures. However, her chances are great.

She already has experience defending her country’s jersey. She was twice under 19 world champion, in Thailand 2019 y Hungary 2021 and won in 2017 the FIBA Americas sub 16 which was played in Buenos Aires. If she is among the 12 chosen for the Games, she will be the youngest on her country’s roster and will have the chance to start the new stage of her life and her career with enormous joy.