Angel McCoughtry says 'the hunger is there' after signing with Lynx

Angel McCoughtry is tired of watching.

McCoughtry, along with Lynx General Manager and coach Cheryl Reeve, took part in a Zoom call Thursday to talk about McCoughtry's decision to sign with the Lynx. Apart from everything else — how will she fit with this Lynx team, what it means to play alongside Sylvia Fowles in Fowles' last season before retirement, pretty much everything else — this is what came through the most:

McCoughtry wants to play.

After missing two of the past three seasons because of knee injuries — including an ACL tear in her right knee sustained in preseason 2021 — and being forced to the sidelines of a game she loves, McCoughtry is ready.

"I'm hungry,'' she said. "Last year I had to sit out and watch the season. Watch the Olympics. The hunger is there. The sense of urgency is there. … When you get older, go through things, in this game, in life, you get it. I'm emotional. I could cry right now. I understand what those moments mean now. I can't wait to be back out there.''

A five-time All-Star, a six-time all-WNBA player, league scoring champ in 2012 and 2013 and seven-time all-defensive team player, McCoughtry is nearly back to 100% following surgery last year. She will head to Team USA training camp — where Reeve will be her head coach — looking to get an idea of how much work is still needed. She will be ready for the start of the 2022 season, her first chance to play in front of fans in four years; she was hurt in 2019 and 2021 and the 2020 season was played in the COVID-19-induced WNBA bubble.

So why not return in front of what McCoughtry said was the best fan base in the league?

At age 35, coming off injuries, McCoughtry said she wanted to both go to a team that could look past that and go to a team well-equipped to keep her healthy. Citing Reeve's reputation of working with veterans and the facilities in Minnesota, she said it was a match. McCoughtry has played with Fowles on Team USA and played with Lynx guard Kayla McBride in Las Vegas in 2020. Reeve is looking for McCoughtry's veteran leadership to take some pressure off Fowles, for her ball-hawking defense to provide the team some grit, for her versatility in scoring to fit with a team that will likely not have Napheesa Collier for much, if not all, of the season.

Angel McCoughtry career statistics

"Every time she's on the floor something will happen,'' Reeve said.

McCoughtry was with Atlanta when the Dream lost to the Lynx in the WNBA Finals in 2011 and 2013. She said she remembers the fear opponents had knowing they'd have to play the Lynx. Most of those Minnesota faces have changed. But one of McCoughtry's goals is to re-instill that fear around the league. "I want to be the nightmare for others that they were for me early in my career,'' she said.

As far as free agency goes, the Lynx appear to be set. Fowles is back, McCoughtry is signed. The team is expected to announce the return of Layshia Clarendon and Rachel Banham in the coming days. Reeve acknowledged that sacrifices were made to assemble the team; Fowles' one-year deal is not for the supermax. It's likely others took less, too.

"It has happened often in our case,'' Reeve said, "with the best players willing to make sacrifices to have better teammates.''

The WNBA announced a $75 million round of capital raised by investors who will now have equity in the league.

The investors include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former WNBA player Swin Cash and some current WNBA and NBA team owners.

"This has been a priority for Kathy (Engelbert, WNBA commissioner), to increase the valuation of our teams,'' Reeve said. "To move this thing forward, economically. This is a massive feather in her cap, in terms of her leadership. It's an important step.'