The Dream star is on the comeback trail.
The countdown is on to the 2019 WNBA season, and many Atlanta Dream fans are probably wondering: How’s Angel McCoughtry doing? So we asked.
McCoughtry tore ligaments in her knee on the same day the Atlanta Dream clinched a berth to 2018 WNBA playoffs.
McCoughtry’s season ended, and the Dream’s continued up until the Eastern Conference finals — the team’s first since 2013 — before falling to the Washington Mystics in Game 5.
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During the off season, the Dream continued to make moves, extending head coach Nicki Collen’s contract through 2020, naming a new team president and announcing plans to play the 2019 season in the newly renovated State Farm Arena.
But ahead of the season, one question still remains: Will Angel McCoughtry be ready for the Dream’s season opener?
“I’m not gonna say that I’m gonna be ready. I’m not gonna say that. I’m not,” McCoughtry told High Post Hoops in a phone interview. “I’m just gonna play it by ear and just see how my body feels.”
She says she’s taking her recovery day by day.
McCoughtry called the first three months after the injury torture, saying she stopped taking for granted the ability to walk up steps and have a daily routine.
“It’s been tough,” she said. “I’m hungry again.”
During the offseason, she started a podcast, worked on a script for a TV show, started writing a book, and continued to run her local ice cream shop – things she said she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do had she not been injured.
“Usually I’m overseas, so I said, ‘Let me see which different things that I can get into and start to figure out what I really wanna do after my career is over,” she said.
McCoughtry’s excited for the opportunity to get back on the court, whether it’s for May 24’s season and home opener vs. the Wings, or later.
“I’m excited to get back and do what I been doing my whole life,” she said. “I’m committed to just bringing a winning season and hopefully we can bring the championship like we’ve always wanted to this town.”
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