No Milestone Too Much for Teaira McCowan
Five months ago, Teaira McCowan was busy breaking records on her way to her third straight NCAA Elite Eight. The Mississippi State product finished college all over the MSU, SEC and even NCAA record books. Now a member of the Indiana Fever, McCowan has carried her penchant for history-making with her into the WNBA.
In a day and age in which more and more centers are stepping out and hitting threes, McCowan has excelled as a true low-post force — a throwback to a bygone era. Rebounding, shot-blocking and finishing around the rim are the staples of her arsenal. And a mere 30 games into her young pro career, she has already established herself as among the elite in each.
Rebounding
McCowan concluded a decorated college career as the NCAA Tournament’s all-time leading rebounder with 240 boards. Her career total of 1,502 is also an SEC record. In her first WNBA season, she may be on the verge of etching her name into league annals as well. Her current rebounding percentage of 23.8% would be the highest single-season mark in league history, surpassing Jonquel Jones’ record of 23.6% set in 2017.
McCowan’s glass-gobbling appetite induces opponent headaches on both ends of the floor. Her per-40 rebounding averages of 6.2 offensive and 10.3 defensive are both the highest ever for a rookie, and with two more offensive rebounds she will become the third rookie this century to pull down 100. Tina Charles holds the record with 129 in 2010, while Chiney Ogwumike’s 2014 total of 123 is close behind. Both eclipsed 900 minutes played, but it’s taken McCowan just 635 to knock on triple digits’ door.
McCowan’s affinity for helping her teammates is on display every time she cleans up one of their misses. After dropping a career-high 24 points in a loss to the Liberty on August 20, she made it clear who she was playing for: “Whenever my teammates, you know, need me, at that point…I’m always there.”
Shot Blocking
The restricted arc resembles more of a wall than a painted line with McCowan on the court. Jones and Amanda Zahui B are the only other players with multiple five-block efforts this year, and McCowan’s block percentage of 5.3% puts her in rarefied air. Eight players in league history have reached the 5% threshold before their 23rd birthday, most recently Kiah Stokes in 2015. Among this group, only Lauren Jackson in 2002 and Candace Parker in 2008 have contributed enough in other areas to reach the 0.2 plateau in win shares per 40 minutes — a stat that estimates the number of wins contributed by an individual player. McCowan’s 0.211 has her in position to challenge Jackson for second on that list.
Parker’s connection to McCowan runs deeper than the statistical similarities. On top of being the only rookie to ever match McCowan’s block percentage and win shares per 40, Parker also broadcast some of McCowan’s collegiate games. The Los Angeles legend spoke highly of McCowan’s progress, telling Her Hoop Stats that the rookie is “doing a great job. She’s a person that has really transformed her body from the time she was at Mississippi State. I’ve watched her a lot…It’s been fun for me to watch her transform and obviously she’s made a huge impact on the league already.”
Scoring Efficiency
McCowan’s greatest impact is felt on the defensive end, but her contributions on offense go beyond the offensive boards. Scoring with the efficiency of a Prius’ gas tank, she is a foul magnet with the ball in her hands. McCowan leads the league in free throw rate with .643 free throw attempts per field goal attempt. If her defensive domicile is the paint, her home on offense is the charity stripe. Her head coach, Pokey Chatman, recognizes the problems that creates for Fever opponents.
“Teaira McCowan changes the game,” Chatman said after the Liberty game. “There’s a reason two of their post players were in foul trouble. There’s a reason Candice [Dupree] got open shots…This [performance by McCowan] should put everyone on notice.”
Powered by the free throw rate, McCowan has posted a true shooting percentage of .577, which equates to an incredible 1.15 points per scoring attempt. Furthermore, she’s doing it on a 20% usage rate, which means when she’s on the floor the Fever go to her for about 20% of their possessions. Current Hall of Famer Kara Wolters and future Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings are the only players to match those numbers in an Indiana uniform. McCowan’s knack for finishing drew more praise from her coach following the Liberty game.
“We have to play to her, go through her and play off of her,” Chatman said. “We had 20 assists in the game tonight because T was a monster…She can be a powerful player for us.”
The Fever’s playoff hopes are on life support, but in jumping three spots in the standings and nearly doubling their win total from a season ago, they have placed themselves on a positive trajectory in 2019. The addition of McCowan has been a key component in that improvement.
Last year, the 6–28 Fever allowed opponents to shoot a league-high 64.3% within five feet of the basket. McCowan’s daunting presence in the lane has authored a worst-to-first story in that department — Indiana leads the league this season at 51.9%. While earlier in the season McCowan’s staunch interior defense came at a cost — foul trouble oftentimes limited her minutes— her development in that regard has been remarkable. Chatman took notice after a win over Seattle on August 25.
“Even now when we’re asking her to guard some fours, she’s no longer getting into easy foul trouble like she did earlier in the year,” said the third-year Indiana head coach. “That’s a sign of her improvement. She’s staying strong for us in tougher matchups, and you can see what it means having her stay on the floor.”
What it means is more Herculean performances and sensational stat lines. After failing to reach 32 minutes in any of her first 28 games, McCowan has gotten there in each of her last two, which has allowed her to demonstrate the type of numbers she’s capable of putting up. In the Seattle game, McCowan poured in 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and brought down a career-high 19 rebounds, the highest total for a rookie since Nneka Ogwumike’s 20 in 2012. Against a playoff-bound opponent, the Fever came away with a 9-point road win. Two days later, McCowan led Indiana to a 15-point victory over Liz Cambage and the Aces with totals of 24 points, 17 boards and 5 blocks. Through the end of June, McCowan was averaging 7.1 fouls per 40 minutes, but that number is down to 4.9 in games played after July 1st. Her production is reflecting that.
Many describe Teaira McCowan as a genuinely nice person, but put her in a room full of statistical records and she’s a bull in a china shop. No milestone is safe in McCowan’s company. After spending four college seasons destroying rebounding records, opponent layup attempts and SEC foes' dreams, she has brought her old-school brand of basketball to a new level. The Fever are that much better for it, but as for the rest of the league? Facing McCowan is only getting scarier.
If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year. All stats are compiled from Basketball Reference and WNBA.com and represent games played through August 28, 2019.
