Teaira McCowan

Teaira McCowan (born September 28, 1996; first name pronounced /tiːˈɛərə/ tee-AIR-uh[1]) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Galatasaray of the Women's Basketball Super League. She played college basketball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Teaira McCowan
McCowan with Indiana Fever in 2019
No. 7 – Dallas Wings
PositionCenter
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-28) September 28, 1996
Bryan, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Turkish
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight239 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrenham
(Brenham, Texas)
CollegeMississippi State (2015–2019)
WNBA draft2019: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Indiana Fever
2021–2022OGM Ormanspor
2022–presentDallas Wings
2022–2023Galatasaray
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

College career

Following McCowan's junior season, she was named WBCA All-American, ESPNW First Team All-American and the Associated Press Third Team All-American. McCowan was also the inaugural winner of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.[2]

On January 10, 2019, McCowan was the projected first overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in an ESPN mock draft.[3] However, this particular mock draft included only college seniors and eligible international players. Later that month, ESPN compiled another mock draft, this time including draft-eligible juniors, the most notable of whom was Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu. In this second mock draft, McCowan was projected as third, but with the caveat that "if Ionescu decides to stay and play her senior season at Oregon, the whole first round looks different."[4] This qualification proved relevant as Ionescu announced that she would remain at Oregon for 2019–20.[5]

On January 21, 2019, she was voted as the espnW national player of the week.[6]

Mississippi State statistics

Source[7]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Mississippi State 35 230 49.5% 0.0% 66.7% 5.6 0.3 0.5 1.3 6.6
2016–17 Mississippi State 39 340 56.9% 0.0% 61.1% 7.1 0.5 0.8 1.5 8.7
2017–18 Mississippi State 39 710 60.1% 0.0% 63.3% 13.9 0.5 0.8 2.1 18.2
2018–19 Mississippi State 36 662 66.2% 0.0% 75.8% 13.5 0.9 0.9 2.4 18.4
Career 149 1942 59.7% 0.0% 67.8% 10.1 0.5 0.8 1.8 13.0

Professional career

WNBA

McCowan was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the third pick of the 2019 WNBA draft. In her first game for the Fever, she hit a buzzer-beating layup to deliver an 81–80 victory.[8] Following the 2019 season in which she averaged 10 points, 9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, McCowan was named to the All-Rookie Team. She was second in the league in rebounding and scored a career-high 24 points in three games.[9]

Overseas

On 1 August 2022, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).[10]

WNBA career statistics

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Indiana 341622.1.517.000.6879.00.20.61.31.310.0
2020 Indiana 221021.0.536.000.7507.30.60.31.02.010.9
2021 Indiana 322326.5.537.000.6449.61.10.61.61.711.3
2022 Dallas 331518.960.2N/A.6007.00.80.30.71.711
Career 4 years, 2 teams 1216422.254.90%0.6618.30.70.51.11.610.8

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Dallas 3124.7.480.000.5339.31.00.31.73.310.7
Career 1 year, 1 team 3124.7.480.000.5339.31.00.31.73.310.7

Personal life

McCowan was born in Bryan, Texas and grew up in Brenham, Texas, where she graduated from Brenham High School. She is the daughter of Tracy Nunn and Dayronn McCowan.[11]

References
  1. "2018–19 Women's Basketball Roster". Mississippi State Bulldogs. Retrieved March 14, 2019. To see the pronunciation, hover over the "ear" icon next to McCowan's name.
  2. "Teaira McCowan Wins Inaugural Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Award" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. WNBA coaches, GMs tab McCowan for top pick in mock draft ESPN, January 10, 2019
  4. Voepel, Mechelle (January 30, 2019). "WNBA mock draft 2019: Predicting all three rounds". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. Ionescu, Sabrina (April 6, 2019). "A Letter to Ducks Nation". The Players' Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  6. Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan is espnW's player of the week ESPN, January 21, 2019
  7. "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  8. "McCowan's layup at buzzer lifts Fever to win over Liberty". AP. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  9. "Rookie of the Year Collier Headlines 2019 All-Rookie Team". WNBA.com.
  10. "Galatasaray'a hoş geldin Teaira McCowan!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  11. "Teaira McCowan – Women's Basketball". Mississippi State. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
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