Fever coach Stephanie White beams with pride as WNBA highlights franchise legend’s defensive greatness

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White took to Instagram to recognize the achievements of a franchise legend. White gave a shoutout to Tamika Catchings by resharing the WNBA’s Black History Month spotlight post dedicated to her.

In her Instagram Stories, White shared the WNBA’s post highlighting how Catchings is the league’s all-time steals leader and the only player to record 1,000 steals. She added a caption that included a goat emoji

“Always so proud of you @catchin24! 🐐,” White wrote.

Throughout February, the league has honored standout Black athletes for their contributions to women’s basketball.

“Tamika Catchings is the WNBA’s all-time steals leader and the only player in league history to record 1,000 steals (1,074 through 457 games),” the WNBA graphic read.

Catchings’ ability to anticipate her opponents’ moves helped her average 2.4 steals per game over her 15-year career. That defensive prowess earned her a record five Defensive Player of the Year awards — the most in WNBA history — along with 12 All-Defensive Team selections.

Stephanie White had a front-row seat to Catchings’ greatness during her time with the Fever. She served as an assistant coach from 2011 to 2014 before taking over as head coach from 2015 to 2016.

During that stretch, she witnessed Catchings’ dominance, as the 6-foot-1 superstar won an MVP award, two Defensive Player of the Year honors and numerous other accolades.

Stephanie White compares Caitlin Clark to Fever legend

Stephanie White, who coached Tamika Catchings for six seasons, has frequently praised her relentless work ethic. Over the years, she has called Catchings one of the hardest workers she has ever seen.

Recently, Caitlin Clark received high praise when White compared her work ethic to that of Catchings.

“I compare (Caitlin Clark’s) work ethic to the only other player who I’ve seen that works like this — Tamika Catchings, who is the all-time greatest. One of the all-time greats,” White said.

Clark is coming off a historic rookie season, where she shattered multiple records while averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award.

Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro