Tamika Catchings Joins Pacers Front Office; Could She Make An Impact On The Fort Wayne Mad Ants?

WNBA legend Tamika Catchings is making her return to Indiana as a director for player development. The star who played for the Indiana Fever for 16 years will be in charge of all three basketball teams in the Indiana area, which includes the Fever, Indiana Pacers, and their D-League affiliate the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

If you look up the word legend, Catchings would be right beside it, and even then that phrase would be considered as an understatement for her. In her 16 year career, she won an WNBA title and finals MVP both in 2012, she was a 5-time WNBA Defensive Player of the year, a 10-time NBA All-Star and Rookie of the year.

She also is the all time leader in the following categories: All-time rebounding leader, all-time steals leader, playoffs all-time leading scorer, playoffs all-time rebounding leader, playoffs all-time steals leader.

Judging off of that alone, she would be very helpful in helping the Indiana area become better players skillfully and mentally. Helping in the D-League would be a huge asset, seeing as their is not many female presence there as it is. And seeing how decorated Catchings is, she has garnered enough respect that players would be sure to listen and take in everything she has to say.

This could be a start to attract more females in this field. Instead of being in an executive position, it would be great for them to also make their way to the sidelines as an assistant coach. At this time, Raptors 905 assistant Nicki Gross standsa as the only female coach in the NBA D-League. Hopefully the impact of Catchings could see a change.

Aside from basketball , she is heavily involved in the community. She was awarded the inaugural ESPN Humanitarian of the Year award in 2015 along with being a two-time recipient of the Dawn Staley Community Leadership award. Along with those two, she was a three-time recipient of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship award and the Pathfinder award, which is awarded to those who improve American youth.

This is a great opportunity for both Tamika Catchings and the Indiana pacers organization. Not only is she a future Hall-of-Famer,,Catching stands as a phenomenal presence on and off the court. Could some of that impact lead into the Mad Ants becoming organzation? Could this push more NBA or D-League squads potentially looking at former WNBA players for executive or assistant coaching roles? That has to be seen. If all goes well Ms. Catchings will soon be replacing the word legend. That is if she's hasn't done so already.