Angel McCoughtry announces she’s been cleared to play

After missing the entire 2019 season, McCoughtry says she’s good to go

Angel McCoughtry announced in a tweet on Wednesday morning that she’s been cleared to return to basketball.

The ninth-year forward missed the entirety of the 2019 WNBA season after suffering a knee injury in August of 2018. McCoughtry’s injury required surgery, and thus missed the Atlanta Dream’s run to the 2018 WNBA Semifinals.

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At the beginning of the 2019 season, Dream coach Nicki Collen indicated that McCoughtry may be able to return before the end of the year. But halfway through the season, it became clear that McCoughtry’s return was further away than expected.

On August 20, McCoughtry announced on her Instagram that she would be playing in the Dream’s final game of the 2019 season on Sept. 8. That night, Collen was firm in stating that McCoughtry had not been cleared to return to basketball activities.

Days later, the Dream released a statement that said McCoughtry had been advised not to play and would instead participate in a ceremonial aspect of the game.

Now, two months later and 15 months after the injury, McCoughtry has announced that she’s been cleared to play.

In the tweet, McCoughtry wrote, “So happy to be back!” and shared a graphic that stated “WNBA Free Agent G/F Angel McCoughtry is officially cleared to play.”

As stated in the graphic, McCoughtry’s contract with the Dream expired at the end of the season. She is now a free agent, and her announcement of being cleared to play is a key step in her process to return to the court — likely with a new team.

The free agency negotiation period doesn’t begin until January under the current CBA, which expires at the end of December, so it’s unknown at this point if McCoughtry will negotiate a new contract with the Dream or if she’ll go elsewhere. But based on her social media posts, McCoughtry is beginning the process of playing professional basketball again.

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