She was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2009 WNBA draft and was considered its franchise player during her tenure with the team.
[2] McCoughtry also attended The Patterson School in Lenoir, North Carolina before entering college at the University of Louisville.
[4] In the summer of 2007, McCoughtry represented the United States on the Pan American Games women's basketball team.
She played a key role in Louisville's upset of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the 2008 Big East tournament.
[7] McCoughtry broke the record for career scoring by a Louisville women's basketball player during the first game of her senior year.
[10] Source[11] Upon joining the Atlanta Dream, McCoughtry soon made a name for herself as an outstanding scorer with excellent penetration and a penchant for drawing the foul.
[12] The following season, McCoughtry's stats significantly improved as she averaged 21.1 ppg, helping the Atlanta Dream to a 19–15 record and the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the number four seed, The Dream were still a championship contender as their starting line-up had consisted of star center Érika de Souza, all-star power forward Sancho Lyttle, Izi Castro Marques as the starting shooting guard, along with McCoughtry at small forward, quickly developing into an all-star caliber player.
McCoughtry was also still able to play in the playoffs once her suspension expired, but the Dream were eliminated 2–1 in the first round by the Indiana Fever who won the championship that year.
[14] In the 2013 season, McCoughtry would win her second scoring title, averaging 21.5 ppg and as well a career-high 2.7 steals per game.
The Lynx would once again sweep the Dream in the Finals, as McCoughtry had a less-than stellar performance this time, scoring under 20 points in each game throughout the series.
With McCoughtry's contributions on both offence and defense, teammate Érika de Souza also being voted an all-star, Sancho Lyttle's prominent rebounding and the acquirement of rookie sensation Shoni Schimmel (who played with the team until 2015), the Dream finished first in the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history with a 19–15 record, being the only team in the Eastern Conference that season to finish above .500.
With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Dream were the number six seed in the league, facing the Seattle Storm in the first round.
The Dream beat the Storm in the first round elimination game as McCoughtry scored 37 points in the win.
[16] On May 20, 2018, McCoughtry scored her 5,000th point in a 101–78 loss to the Dallas Wings, making her the 18th player in WNBA history to reach that milestone.
[19] In February 2020, McCoughtry left the Dream after 12 years of being with the franchise, signing with the Las Vegas Aces in free agency.
The 2020 season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McCoughtry made her return on July 26, 2020, scoring a season-high 25 points in an 88–86 loss to the Chicago Sky.
In the semi-finals, the Aces would defeat the Connecticut Sun in a hard-fought five-game series, advancing to the WNBA Finals, making it McCoughtry's fourth finals appearance, but with a shorthanded roster, the Aces would lose to a fully loaded Seattle Storm team in a three-game sweep.
[25] McCoughtry earned most valuable player honors at the Ekaterinburg International Invitational Tournament, as she helped the USA Basketball team win the competition.
[27] McCoughtry was selected to be a member of the National team representing the US at the World Championships held in September and October 2010.
Several players shared scoring honors, with Swin Cash, McCoughtry, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen, and Sylvia Fowles all ending as high scorer in the first few games.
[40] McCoughtry grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from St. Frances Academy, then spent one year at The Patterson School in North Carolina while working to attain NCAA Division I academic eligibility.