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Chicago Sky rookie Hailey Van Lith and former player Angel McCoughtry caused a frenzy in the basketball world. McCoughtry, on Wednesday's episode of the "Let Her Shoot" podcast, asserted that Van Lith doesn't deserve to be in the WNBA.
"Hailey Van Lith, she's a decent player," McCoughtry said. "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. 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?"
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Although the two-time WNBA scoring champion apologized on Saturday, it fell on deaf ears. McCoughtry responded to a fan's comment about the issue on her Instagram post on Sunday.
"@nickadams2 they twisted my words," McCoughtry wrote. "Believe what u want. At the end of the day. Our jerseys will hang together in the rafters at Louisville."
Van Lith has struggled to find her footing in the pros. She's averaging 4.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
She was drafted by the Sky with the 11th pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. Before joining the Sky, she led TCU to its first Big 12 regular season championship and was named the conference's Player and Newcomer of the Year.
Chicago Sky coach defends Hailey Van Lith following criticism from Angel McCoughtry
Hailey Van Lith has been defended by team coach Tyler Marsh following her criticism by Angel McCoughtry. Marsh spoke after the Sky practice on Friday, although he didn't mention the criticism directly.
“We’ve seen really good flashes and moments from Hailey throughout this season, and then other moments where there’s obviously still room for growth," Marsh said. "As well as she played against Connecticut and then struggled against Washington, that’s rookie growing pains."
Van Lith and the Sky have struggled in the league. The Sky are on a three-game losing run, having gone 3-10 this season. They face the LA Sparks at home on Tuesday with tip-off slated for 8 p.m. ET.
