Angel McCoughtry announces she has been cleared to play

Atlanta Dream guard/forward Angel McCoughtry tweeted on Wednesday that she has been cleared to play. McCoughtry, a five-time All-Star and one of the most dominant scorers in the WNBA, injured her knee in 2018 and missed the entire 2019 season, which saw the Dream go 8-26 and finish in last place.

McCoughtry has been tough to read in the past. But in her tweet, which reads “So happy to be back!” it seems like she is serious about returning to the WNBA.

On Oct. 21, McCoughtry tweeted out a thanks to the city of Atlanta, saying “Atlanta! I’m grateful, thank you for allowing me to grow as a woman here!” After that, there was some speculation that the former Louisville star who has played with the Dream her entire WNBA career might be retiring.

Now that she says she has been cleared to play, the question is: Where will she be playing in 2020? McCoughtry is an unrestricted free agent, but her thanks to Atlanta also could have been referring to the Dream’s move from Atlanta to College Park, GA. The team announced Oct. 18 that they will play at Gateway Center instead of State Farm Arena.

McCoughtry has yet to win a WNBA championship, which may motivate her to go to a better team.

Regardless of whether McCoughtry stays with the Dream or moves on, it seems that the WNBA will return one of the faces of its league, who is 33 years old and could still have a lot of pro basketball left in her.