Former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas recently reacted to Angel McCoughtry saying that she’d return to the WNBA in order to protect Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, who was involved in a viral incident with Chennedy Carter earlier this month, and other potential teammates.
McCoughtry took exception to Arenas’ comments.
“Angel, you get it,” Arenas said regarding McCoughtry’s comments stating she would protect Clark. “Someone’s thinking. No matter what we say, no matter what’s going on, someone is gonna get paid from protecting her as a teammate. It’s just a fact. She gets hit, and you go and hit the person that hit her, what you think she’s thinking? ‘Oh my god, thank you. I appreciate it.’ That means, wherever she goes, she’s bringing you right along. You are her enforcer.
“Dwyane Wade didn’t go nowhere without [Udonis] Haslem. Haslem didn’t go nowhere without Wade. It is a real thing. Michael Jordan — you seen Michael Jordan, who did you see? Charles motherf—— Oakley — that is called a living, right? Angel — hey listen, she’s a rookie. Angel might get fo’, five, seven more years. You start punching people for her, trust me, god dammit. Get your bread up. Hey, I know you protecting Caitlin Clark. I know one person who ain’t gon’ get fired ever or cut ever.”
McCoughtry responded to Arenas on X (previously known as Twitter) and referenced an instance where the latter was suspended for 50 games after bringing a gun to the Wizards’ locker room.
Gilbert don't play !!! @GilsArenaShow pic.twitter.com/wAxAT1WMgb
— McCoughtry (@angel_35) June 10, 2024
“So, this message is for Gilbert Arenas,” McCoughtry said in light of the former NBA guard’s comments. “First of all, my name is Angel McCoughtry, not Angel McCourty. Secondly, if you heard what I said instead of having selective hearing, you would’ve heard I named three incidences — Jackie Young’s incident, Angel Reese’s incident and also Caitlin Clark’s incident.
“And what I said was, as a vet, I’m gonna take up for my teammates. It doesn’t matter who it is, okay? It’s not my fault that the media honed in on one player. So, don’t try to make it seem like I’m tryna make a comeback to the league to just protect one player. No — any teammate of mine, I will protect because that’s what vets do, real vets, okay?
“People that know my story know, I have been injured twice. I have gone through a lot, and I have been tryna make a comeback to the league since three years ago to retire the way I want and to finish out winning. That has been my goal, so don’t do that to me, Gilbert. That’s not what we do. Next time, call me. You can call me and talk to me. We know what the media does and how they twist situations. And real vets, they do take up for their teammates. They don’t have to bring guns to the locker room.”
The 37-year-old hasn’t played in the WNBA since the 2022 season, when she appeared in two games with the Minnesota Lynx and averaged 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 block.
McCoughtry has five WNBA All-Star nods under her belt, though those all came when she played for the Atlanta Dream earlier on in her pro career. Her most recent All-Star selection came all the way back in 2018.
But at points during her time with the Dream, she was one of the best players in the WNBA. During a four-season stretch from 2010 to 2013, she averaged 21-plus points per game every season and also finished no worse than sixth in the league’s MVP voting in all four years.
Arguably the best season of her WNBA career so far came in 2011, when she suited up in 33 contests and averaged a career-high 21.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.0 block per game. The Dream also reached the WNBA Finals that year with McCoughtry leading the way and lost just one game in the playoffs prior to the championship series.
However, the Lynx — who had Maya Moore at the time — proved to be too talented for the Dream. The Lynx won the series 3-0, though two of the three games in the WNBA Finals were decided by only six points. Seimone Augustus earned the WNBA Finals MVP award after averaging 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest against the Dream.
Regardless of if she teams up with Clark on the Fever or joins another team, here’s to hoping that McCoughtry will finally make her return to the WNBA at some point this season.
