Speaker. Community Leader. Athlete.
consistently changing the game
Since her playing retirement, she serves as director of player programs and franchise development with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, a post that keeps her engaged working with all three Pacers franchises: the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever and Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. She operates the cozy Tea’s Me Café on the north side of downtown Indianapolis, and continues her service as an ambassador with the NBA and WNBA. She serves on a developmental committee with USA Basketball. She also serves as an SEC ESPN Women’s Basketball Analyst.
In March 2016, Catchings released an autobiographical story, Catch A Star: Shining through Adversity to Become a Champion sharing her story of overcoming hearing loss, separation from family, high expectations and the pain of debilitating physical injuries. She reached for the stars with hard work, perseverance and her faith in God.
The first man or woman in recorded basketball history to record a quintuple-double (Duncanville High School in 1997), Catchings’ leadership, tenacity and all-around skills led the Indiana Fever to becoming one of the WNBA’s elite franchises. The Fever reached the playoffs 13 times in Catchings’ 15 active seasons, including a WNBA-record run of 12-in-a-row from 2005-16. The Fever reached the conference finals eight times, including five straight seasons. The Fever won a WNBA championship in 2012 and came within one game of two more championships in five-game WNBA Finals appearances in 2009 and 2015. Catchings played in every playoff game in Fever history through the time of her retirement.
Catchings was the WNBA’s only player ever to spend an entire career of 16 or more seasons with the same franchise.
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“Fierce, competitive, tough, funny, and loyal — these are adjectives sum up my good friend Tamika Catchings. It’s been a pleasure to witness her growth, not only as a basketball player and champion but as a beautiful woman with unbreakable character and strength.” – Reggie Miller, NBA Hall of Famer for the Indiana Pacers and TNT NBA analyst