INDIANAPOLIS – When the Indiana Fever host a 20th Anniversary Celebration delivered by Papa John’s during their home opening game on Saturday, June 1, the organization will honor members of a 20th Anniversary Team selected by fans and select staff and media. The Fever’s 20th Anniversary Team will be celebrated throughout the season and represents a collection of the best players in franchise history, responsible for 13 playoff appearances, three trips to the WNBA Finals and a 2012 WNBA championship.
Indiana hosts the New York Liberty on June 1 (7:00 p.m.) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the site of every home game in franchise history. The June 1 game takes place on the exact date that the Fever played its first game, June 1, 2000, in Miami.
Led by four starters from the 2012 WNBA Champions – Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas, Briann January and Tammy Sutton-Brown – the 12-member team was selected by mostly season ticket holders during online balloting over the past month. A select panel of staff and media who each covered the team for more than 10 seasons contributed ballots counting 25 percent of the total vote.
The 2012 championship quartet and six-year point guard Tully Bevilaqua who guided the club to consecutive playoff appearances from 2005 to 2010, were unanimous selections by the panel of 10-year staff and media that included Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever’s chief executive for 19 years. Each of 27 nominees received votes in the overall balloting.
“I’m so proud to be able to present this team to our fans, let alone be on it myself,” said Catchings, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and 10-time WNBA All-Star who now is the club’s vice president of basketball operations. “We have had such a great run of success. It’s terrific to share this with our fan base and I’m thrilled to see this league and franchise thrive for two decades.”
The top seven vote-getters were starters from 2009, 2012 or 2015 teams that reached the WNBA Finals. Former player and coach Stephanie White finished eighth in overall balloting. Capping the team were past Finals contributors Erin Phillips and Ebony Hoffman and current stars Candice Dupree and Natalie Achonwa.
Six members of the Fever’s 10-member All-Decade Team, introduced in 2009, also are members of the 20th Anniversary Team. The Indiana Fever’s 20th Anniversary Team:
Player Seasons Player Seasons
Natalie Achonwa 2015 to present Briann January 2009 to 2017
Tully Bevilaqua 2005 to 2010 Erlana Larkins 2012 to 2017
Tamika Catchings 2001 to 2016 Erin Phillips 2011 to 2013
Katie Douglas 2008 to 2013 Tammy Sutton-Brown 2007 to 2012
Candice Dupree 2017 to present Stephanie White 2000 to 2004
Ebony Hoffman 2004 to 2010 Shavonte Zellous 2010 to 2015
For Indiana Fever single-game ticket information or 2019 season ticket information, visit FeverBasketball.com or call (317) 917-2528.