Catchings Inducted Into Hall of Fame

(photo courtesy Pacers Sports & Entertainment)

Indiana Fever executive Tamika Catchings is now a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2020 will be enshrined on August 29 at the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“I am incredibly honored to be included in this year’s Naismith Hall of Fame, and God only knows the dreams I had as a little girl to be able to follow in my father’s footsteps,” Catchings said. “I am so thankful to stand alongside so many amazing men and women that have come before me.”

Catchings spent her entire WNBA career with the Indiana Fever, and won the 2011 MVP award and led the team to the 2012 championship, in which she was named Finals MVP. The 12-time All-WNBA team member also won a collegiate championship during her four years at the University of Tennessee and won four straight Olympic gold medals with Team USA from 2002-2016.

“Tamika is a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word, someone whose success on the court and generosity off it have made her such an important figure in our sport,” said Pacers Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Herb Simon. “She is what young players aspire to be, and it is fitting that she is being recognized in this very special way. We’re so proud that she’s a part of our PS&E family, and I congratulate her on this amazing accomplishment.”

Catchings is joined in this class by 18-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, 15-time All-Star Tim Duncan, nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member Kevin Garnett, four-time National Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton, two-time NBA champ coach Rudy Tomjanovich, three-time NCAA championship coach Kim Mulkey, five-time Coach of the Year Barbara Stevens and FIBA executive Patrick Baumann.