Notre Dame HC Niele Ivey drops 1-word reaction as former WNBA champion gets 100% real about her family

Notre Dame's coach, Niele Ivey, was all ears as Tamika Catchings highlighted the impact of family in shaping her legendary career. In the reel posted by "A Star Struck" podcast on Monday, the WNBA champion shared that her family isn't restricted to just bloodline.

She expressed the importance of the unwavering support of peers that factors into one's success.

"My family is everything, they're involved in everything I do as a player even now, and everything that I have going on, they just always have," she said.

"And it's not just blood family, I consider you family, I consider Michelle family ... You might not talk every day, or talk once a month, once a quarter or once every couple years. But when I call or they call, you're gonna pick up. So, even in the basketball world, my team was my family."

Niele Ivey responded to the moment by reposting the clip on her Instagram handle with a one-word reaction.

"Favs!!!" she wrote with heart emojis.

Notre Dame head coach reacts as Catchings shares people she considers family | via @irishcoachivey/ig

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Tamika Catchings and Niele Ivey played together in the WNBA

Tamika Catchings and Niele Ivey headlined the Indiana Fever's roster in the early 2000s. Catchings joined the franchise as the third overall pick in the 2001 draft as a Player of the Year out of Tennessee. Ivey joined the WNBA as the 19th pick the same year after leading Notre Dame to a NCAA title.

The two stars established the groundwork for the franchise's future success. They led the team to its first winning run, a 16-16 record, and won the tie-breaker with Orlando Miracle to mark its first playoff appearance. They led Indiana to its first sellout game the next season, where they followed up by defeating the Washington Mystics on a national broadcast.

Niele Ivey left Fever in 2005 to lace up for Detroit and Phoenix. However, her bond with Tamika Catchings stayed. A glimpse of it came when Ivey highlighted the upbringing of her son in an interview with the NBA.

She highlighted that Catchings, alongside other teammates and staff members, helped her raise Jaden during her playing days.