Las Vegas Aces guard/forward Angel McCoughtry will miss the 2021 WNBA season after tearing the ACL and meniscus in her right knee during Saturday's WNBA preseason game at Los Angeles.
McCoughtry, 34, injured the knee upon landing after grabbing an offensive rebound 2:49 into the first quarter. The team announced the official diagnosis on Monday.
"Initially, every negative thought came to my head," McCoughtry said in a statement. "Then I realized ... this game has been such a blessing to me, and so has God. I will conquer this challenge even better than last time. I will recover and fight my way back to the court. I still have tons of basketball to play, God has ALWAYS delivered for me ... and it's not over yet!
"Thank you to my amazing teammates and the Las Vegas Aces organization for being so supportive."
Small thing to a giant.
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 10, 2021
You got this @angel_35 💪🙏 pic.twitter.com/JeOaX8D1cf
McCoughtry missed the 2019 WNBA season while rehabbing a left knee injury suffered late in the 2018 season.
Las Vegas starts this season May 15 against Seattle (ABC, 3 p.m. ET). Last season was McCoughtry's first with the Aces. She averaged 14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds as a starter for Las Vegas, which made it to the WNBA Finals before losing to Seattle in a three-game sweep.
Before that, McCoughtry played nine seasons with Atlanta, the team that drafted her No. 1 overall in 2009 out of Louisville. After leading the Cardinals to their first Women's Final Four in 2009, she was the WNBA's rookie of the year.
McCoughtry helped the Dream make the WNBA Finals in 2010, '11 and '13. She was the WNBA's scoring leader in 2012 (21.4) and 2013 (21.5). McCoughtry has been an all-WNBA first-team selection twice and second-team pick four times. She's made the league's all-defensive first team seven times.
She won Olympic gold with the U.S. team in 2012 and 2016 and won the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup gold with the Americans in 2010 and 2014.