Audio By Carbonatix
Angel McCoughtry is not so sure Hailey Van Lith deserves to play in the WNBA. She took a brutal shot at the Chicago Sky’s rookie combo guard to question her on-court ability beyond her off-court stardom.
It was ice cold.
McCoughtry played 13 years in the WNBA. The former No. 1 overall pick in 2009 spent a decade with the Atlanta Dream, two years with the Las Vegas Aces and one year with the Minnesota Lynx. She averaged 18.6 points on 42.9% shooting in 311 games and twice was named as the league’s scoring champion with five All-Star appearances. Those accolades were in addition to her Rookie of the Year and seven-time All-Defensive First Team honors.
Needless to say, Angel McCoughtry knows ball. However, the 38-year-old is not so sure about Hailey Van Lith through the first nine games of her rookie season. She did not hold back her thoughts during a recent appearance on the Let Her Shoot! podcast.
Van Lith, drafted No. 11 overall, averages about five points on 41% shooting and two rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game so far this year. Her role with Chicago became far more important when Courtney Vandersloot suffered a torn ACL. The results have been mixed. Some games are great. Some games are not. More of the latter than the former.
- 6/7 — 26 minutes vs. Indiana Fever — seven points, two rebounds, one steal, one block
- 6/10 — 16 minutes vs. New York Liberty — five points, two assists, one steal
- 6/13 — 4 minutes vs. Atlanta Dream — four points, one assist
- 6/15 — 24 minutes vs. Connecticut Sun — 16 points, five rebounds, one assist, one block
- 6/17 — 26 minutes vs. Washington Mystics — five points, two rebounds, one assist
A 1/1 assist/turnover ratio isn’t great and the defensive struggles are very real but 2025 WNBA season is still very young and the Sky are terrible as a whole. All of this goes to say that there is plenty of time for Hailey Van Lith to figure it out. Angel McCoughtry is not so sure sure she will.
Hailey Van Lith, she’s a decent player. Is there players out there [not in the WNBA] who may be better than Hailey Van Lith? I believe so. [But] they’re not popular.
— Angel McCoughtry
She seems to think the rookie is only in the league because of her following on social media.
If Hailey Van Lith had 10,000 followers, would she be in the league?
Honestly, if we just talk about her true talent — take away the followers — just from her talent right now… would she be in the league if she had 10,000 followers?
— Angel McCoughtry
Technically speaking, at no point did Angel McCoughtry say Hailey Van Lith does not deserve to play professional basketball. Nor did she say Van Lith does not deserve to play in the WNBA. But… we can all read between the lines. That’s a brutal question to present, even as a hypothetical.