Tamika Catchings: 'Jesus is Definitely My Savior; He Walks Beside Me Through My Ups and Downs' (Gosp

She is a professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. After graduating from high school where she was named a WBCA All-American, she became one of the star athletes at the University of Tennessee women's basketball team. In 2001, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. In 2002, she had an all-star rookie season. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star Selection, made the All-WNBA Team six times, and was the 2011 WNBA MVP. In 2004, 2008, and 2012, she helped lead her team to Gold in the Olympic Games. She currently serves as President of the WNBA Players Association.

Though she grew up in the church, her faith only became real to her in her senior year at the University of Tennessee when she suffered a season ending injury just months before the WNBA draft. When she realized all she had was God at that point, she says God gave her the peace and the strength to make it through. Though her injury kept her from playing her first year at Indiana, she gained a new perspective on faith, basketball, and God.

She said, "Peace definitely came from God. It came from realizing I needed to remove my focus from basketball back to God. It seems like every single time I have been hurt it has been the same thing. It's been that you get so caught up in what you are doing that you forget to give Him the glory. It is hard to be a Christian in the WNBA; and I think it is because of so many different stereotypes. Just trying to walk with Him and not be pulled by all the negative forces from the outside. I think that what I do with my platform is that I live my life as Christlike as I can. [Jesus] is definitely my Savior. He's the one that walks beside me through my ups and downs and the one that keeps me focused on where I am going in life. He protects me. He provides for me. He guides me and he leads me."

Her name is Tamika Catchings.