# Teaira McCowan

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

## 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.
On January 10, 2019, McCowan was the projected first overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in an ESPN mock draft. 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." This qualification proved relevant as Ionescu announced that she would remain at Oregon for 2019–20.
On January 21, 2019, she was voted as the espnW national player of the week.

## 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. 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.
McGowan played for the Indiana Fever for the 2019 through 2021 seasons and, after a March 2022 trade, the Dallas Wings for the 2022 through 2024 seasons.

### Overseas

On 1 August 2022, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).
On 8 January 2024, it was announced that a contract was signed with Galatasaray again.
On November 6, 2024, McCowan signed a short term deal with Çukurova Basketbol.

## 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.

## Career statistics
### WNBA
#### Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season
WNBA regular season statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2019 | Indiana | 34 | 16 | 22.1 | .517 | — | .687 | 9.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 10.0 |
| 2020 | Indiana | 22 | 10 | 21.0 | .536 | .000 | .750 | 7.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.9 |
| 2021 | Indiana | 32 | 23 | 26.5 | .537 | — | .644 | 9.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 11.3 |
| 2022 | Dallas | 33 | 15 | 18.9 | .602 | — | .600 | 7.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 11.0 |
| 2023 | Dallas | 30 | 29 | 26.1 | .551 | .000 | .586 | 9.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 11.9 |
| 2024 | Dallas | 39 | 38 | 25.3 | .570 | .250 | .718 | 8.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 11.7 |
| Career | 6 years, 2 teams | 190 | 131 | 23.4 | .554 | .091 | .661 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 11.2 |

#### Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2022 | Dallas | 3 | 1 | 24.7 | .480 | — | .533 | 9.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 10.7 |
| 2023 | Dallas | 5 | 5 | 30.4 | .622 | — | .522 | 12.6° | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 11.6 |
| Career' | 2 years, 1 team | 8 | 6 | 28.3 | .565 | — | .565 | 11.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 11.3 |

### College

NCAA statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2015–16 | Mississippi State | 35 | 1 | 13.7 | .495 | — | .667 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 6.6 |
| 2016–17 | Mississippi State | 39 | 6 | 19.7 | .569 | — | .611 | 7.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 8.7 |
| 2017–18 | Mississippi State | 39 | 39 | 30.5 | .601 | — | .633 | 13.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 18.2 |
| 2018–19 | Mississippi State | 36 | 36 | 29.9 | .662 | .000 | .758 | 13.5 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 18.4 |
| Career | Career | 149 | 82 | 23.6 | .597 | .000 | .678 | 10.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 13.0 |