Former Tennessee star Tamika Catchings makes history with basketball Hall of Fame selection
The 2020 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class was announced on Saturday, and former Tennessee star Tamika Catchings was among those elected.
Catchings was elected to the Hall of Fame alongside Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Catchings is the first Tennessee women’s basketball player to be selected to the Hall of Fame:
Tamika Catchings was selected to the basketball Hall of Fame today.
She is the 1st Tennessee women's basketball player to be selected to the Naismith Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/i1nOi0PTVU
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 4, 2020
The Lady Vol Twitter account congratulated Catchings shortly after the news was announced:
It's official!
Tamika Catchings is the newest member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/TL7zA9XqZ7
— Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) April 4, 2020
Catchings helped the Lady Vols win the 1998 national championship. She also won the WNBA title in 2012 with the Indiana Fever. She was named Finals MVP.
She was the MVP for the entire league in 2011. She also has been a part of 4 gold medal-winning Team USA women’s squads (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016).
She now serves as the general manager for the Fever.