Tamika Catchings rates as one of the greatest Tennessee basketball players in history. She was a four-time Kodak All-American and the AP and Naismith player of the year in 2000. She ranks fourth in Lady Vol history in career points (2,113) and fifth in rebounds (1,004), one of only two players in Lady Vol history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Since graduating from Tennessee, Catchings has gone on to be one of the most influential players in WNBA history. Catchings is set to become the WNBA’s only player ever to spend an entire career of 15 or more seasons with the same franchise. The Indiana Fever forward earned WNBA Finals MVP honors while leading the Fever to the 2012 WNBA championship. She earned league MVP honors in 2011. Catchings ranks as the league’s all-time leader in free throws and steals, while ranking second in points and rebounds. She is the WNBA career playoffs leader in points, rebounds, free throws and steals.
Catchings will retire at the end of the 2016 WNBA season, but before that she will compete with Team USA at the Olympics as she seeks to become just the third American basketball player, male or female, to earn four Olympic gold medals. Catchings helped the USA claim gold at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Read more about UT athletes at the Rio Olympics from UT Sports.