Tamika Catchings - Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Tamika Catchings
(Born 1979)

Hall of Fame Induction: 2020

Card Shown:
2006 Rittenhouse WNBA

Position: F
Height: 6’1″

Tamika Catchings has been called the greatest all-around player in the history of the WNBA. She had a passion and love for basketball that expressed itself in her relentless competitive drive and desire to always give 100% effort. Tamika’s offensive and defensive abilities set her apart from her peers.

Catchings played her entire fifteen-season professional career with the Indiana Fever. She was chosen by the Fever with the third pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft. After sitting out her first year due to injury, Tamika went on to become the face of the Fever franchise. She was the 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year, 2011 Most Valuable Player, ten-time All-Star, twelve-time All-WNBA, and a twelve-time All-Defensive selection.

Awards and Honors

Tamika won two high school basketball state titles in two different states. As a sophomore at Stevenson High in Illinois, she teamed with her sister Tauja (a junior) to win the state championship. Later, as a senior at Duncanville High School in Texas, Catchings did it again.
Catchings played college basketball at Tennessee under legendary coach Pat Summitt. She helped the Lady Vols to the 1998 NCAA championship. Tamika was part of a Fab Four freshman class at Tennessee that teamed with Chamique Holdsclaw to finish with an undefeated season at 39-0. It was the Lady Vols third straight title.
In 2012, Tamika led the Fever to the WNBA championship. She teamed with Katie Douglas and Briann January to defeat the Minnesota Lynx 3-1.
Catchings won gold medals, as a part of Team USA, in four consecutive Olympic games. The United States won in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), and Rio (2016).
In 2011, Tamika was named one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. The other players to be recognized were Sue Bird, Cynthia Cooper, Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Ticha Penicheiro, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson, and Teresa Weatherspoon.
In 2016, Tamika was named one of the Top 20 players in WNBA history, along with many of those recognized in 2011 in the Top 15.
Catchings was a five-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She won the award in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2012.

Points of Interest

At Duncanville High School, Tamika tallied a rare quintuple-double, recording double digits in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
Catchings finished her WNBA career with averages of 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.
Tamika met Kobe Bryant in Italy when they were both kids. Both of their fathers played in the NBA before playing professional basketball abroad and the Bryant and Catchings families became close.
Basketball was Catchings’ refuge as she grew up and overcame difficulties related to her hearing loss. For years, she had a goal taped on her mirror to become an NBA player like her father. Although she never played in the NBA, she became one of the greatest WNBA players ever.
Tamika has continued on with the Fever, even after her retirement as a player. She first served as the Director of Player Programs and Franchise Development and then as the Vice President of Basketball Operations. More recently, Catchings has moved into the role of General Manager.
Catchings owns a tea shop called “Tea’s Me Indy,” and founded the non-profit organization “Catch the Stars” which focuses on empowering youth in the Indianapolis area.
Tamika dreams of more championships for the Indiana, but most importantly, she lives to make a difference in the lives of young men and women. Her faith in God, her belief in herself, and her strong work ethic have given her a message that she wants to share with others. She tells the Fever website, “I talk a lot about dreaming big and believing in yourself. Realizing you can make an impact wherever you are and always trying to achieve greatness, whatever that might look like for you. You can do whatever it is you want to do, but it’s going to take hard work.”
Tamika shared her story in the book, Catch a Star: Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion (affiliate link). She ends the book envisioning a scene where she watches a young girl participating in one of her Catch the Stars youth basketball camps. She says, “I look at this girl, so like myself years ago, and I wonder about her life ahead. Her relationships. Her family. And if she hears God in her life. You see, that’s what really matters.”

Statistics

Tamika Catchings Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com

Personal Autograph Interaction

Joshua and I met Tamika Catchings at the 2020 Hall of Fame Induction weekend during the Awards Gala Dinner on Friday night. We also met Tamika’s father Harvey Catchings who had played in the NBA and her sister Tauja Catchings who had also been a successful basketball player in high school and college. I had done some research and had ordered the Harvey Catchings and Tauja Catchings cards on eBay in planning for the weekend.

I took a picture of Joshua with Tamika and she signed our cards for us. My card is a 2006 WNBA patch card. I also got my 1977-78 Topps Harvey Catchings card signed as well as a high school card of Tauja Catchings. Finding Tauja to sign my card proved to be a small challenge. Harvey pointed me in the general direction and told me what color clothes she was wearing, but the first person I approached was not Tauja.

I think the whole Catchings family got a kick out of the fact that I had brought cards to get signed of all three basketball players in the family. Tauja showed her card to her kids and I think they wanted to keep it, but she returned it to me. It was a pleasure meeting Tamika, Harvey, and Tauja.

Thank you, Tamika, Harvey, and Tauja!