The Minnesota Lynx have moved to the top of the WNBA at 5-2, but they are still making personnel improvements, signing former lottery pick Teaira McCowan on Thursday to help deepen their inside game.
The 6-foot-7 McCowan, the No. 3 draft pick out of Mississippi State in 2019, has averaged 10.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in her WNBA career. McCowan played her first three seasons with Indiana and the last four with Dallas, starting 131 of 207 games. She averaged double digits in scoring each of her first six seasons, but her production fell off last year as she played just 17 games.
Minnesota star forward Napheesa Collier is still out after ankle surgery and the Lynx lost another post player, Emma Cechova, to a season-ending knee injury on May 14. Veteran free agent signee Natasha Howard has excelled at filling in the gap inside, leading the Lynx thus far in scoring (17.7) and rebounding (8.3). Another free agent signee, forward Nia Coffey, has come up big, too, leading the Lynx in blocks (1.1) while averaging 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds.
But the Lynx needed more depth inside, especially with the uncertainty about when Collier may return, and McCowan can provide that. She played for Turkish club Fenerbahçe during the WNBA's offseason, averaging 8.2 points on 60.7% shooting from the floor and 4.7 rebounds in 19 games.
Minnesota next plays at Chicago on Friday.