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Kahleah Copper

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Kahleah Copper (/kəˈliːə/ kə-LEE-ə; born August 28, 1994)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the seventh overall pick by the Washington Mystics in 2016, and was traded to the Chicago Sky the next year.

Kahleah Copper
Copper with the Chicago Sky in 2023
No. 2 – Phoenix Mercury
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-08-28) August 28, 1994 (age 30)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolPrep Charter
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Girard College
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegeRutgers (2012–2016)
WNBA draft2016: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016Washington Mystics
2017–2023Chicago Sky
2021–2022Perfumerias Avenida
2024–presentPhoenix Mercury
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women’s basketball
Representing  United States
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Australia

After three years as a bench player with the Sky, she was elevated to a starting role in 2020. She emerged as a star player in 2021, being named a WNBA All-Star for the first time. Copper led the Chicago Sky during the 2021 playoffs, being named WNBA Finals MVP as the team won their first title in franchise history.

Early life and playing career

Copper is a native of North Philadelphia.[2] She attended and played for Girard College and the Preparatory Charter High School in Philadelphia.[3][4] As a high school player, she was named to the All-Public League team in Philadelphia, the All-State team in Pennsylvania, and the McDonald's All-American team.[4] She played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team in college from 2012 to 2016, finishing her college career with the third-most points all time in team history (1,872).[5][4]

Professional career

WNBA

Washington Mystics (2016)

Copper was drafted as the 7th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics.[6] She was a bench player in her first season, averaging 16.2 minutes and 6.2 points per game. After the season, she was traded to the Chicago Sky as part of a deal that sent Elena Delle Donne to the Mystics and Stefanie Dolson, Copper, and the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft to the Sky.[7][8]

Chicago Sky (2017-2024)

In her first three seasons with the Sky, Copper generally came off the bench and averaged 6.7 to 7.1 points per game.[9] In 2020, she was re-signed by the Sky.[10][11] She was elevated to a starting role in the 2020 season, which was played in a "bubble" due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and led the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game.[12][13][4]

Copper continued into her starting role in the 2021 season, and was named as an All-Star for the first time.[2] She averaged 14.4 points per game in the regular season and led the team in scoring in the postseason with 17.7 points per game. Copper led the Sky to their first championship and was named Finals MVP.[14]

In the offseason, the Sky used their one available "core player" designation for Copper, and subsequently signed her to a two-year contract.[15][16] In the 2022 season, Copper was once again named an All-Star as the Sky returned to the postseason but lost in the semifinals in 5 games.

Phoenix Mercury (2024–present)

On February 6, 2024, Copper was traded to the Phoenix Mercury alongside the rights to Morgan Bertsch in exchange for Michaela Onyenwere, Brianna Turner, the 2024 No. 3 pick, a 2025 second round pick (from CHI), a 2026 first round pick, and the right to swap 2026 second round.[17]

Overseas career

In the 2021–2022 season Copper played for Perfumerias Avenida in the Spanish League and the Euroleague. She was named the MVP of both leagues.[18]

International career

In September 2022, Copper was named to the USA international team ahead of the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.[19] The team went undefeated in the tournament and won the gold medal. Copper was invited to the Team USA camp in early 2023, as part of evaluations for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics.[20]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012-13 Rutgers 30 153 40.7% 0.0% 71.7% 3.5 0.5 0.4 0.1 5.1
2013-14 Rutgers 36 580 52.1% 0.0% 71.0% 6.2 1.4 1.1 0.3 16.1
2014-15 Rutgers 33 538 45.9% 0.0% 70.8% 5.2 1.5 1.2 0.2 16.3
2015-16 Rutgers 34 601 49.7% 38.6% 67.5% 8.0 1.7 1.6 0.5 17.7
Career 133 1872 48.4% 37.5% 70.1% 5.8 1.3 1.1 0.3 14.1

WNBA

† Denotes seasons in which Copper won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016 Washington 30 3 16.2 .417 .467 .683 3.1 0.8 0.5 0.1 1.1 6.2
2017 Chicago 34 10 14.3 .465 .294 .830 1.9 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.8 6.7
2018 Chicago 33 2 15.9 .397 .375 .875 2.2 0.6 0.3 0.2 1.0 7.1
2019 Chicago 34 0 14.8 .387 .306 .771 1.9 0.9 0.4 0.1 1.3 6.7
2020 Chicago 22 22 31.3 .496 .344 .737 5.5 2.1 1.0 0.2 2.5 14.9
2021† Chicago 32 32 30.8 .459 .306 .818 4.2 1.8 0.8 0.3 1.9 14.4
2022 Chicago 31 31 28.7 .481 .356 .775 5.7 2.3 0.5 0.0 2.0 15.7
2023 Chicago 38 38 31.2 .448 .404 .770 4.4 2.0 0.9 0.3 2.5 18.7
Career 8 years, 2 teams 254 138 22.6 .450 .361 .781 3.5 1.3 0.6 0.1 1.6 11.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Chicago 2 0 16.0 .545 .750 1.000 2.0 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 9.0
2020 Chicago 1 1 35.0 .500 .500 .250 0.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 17.0
2021† Chicago 10 10 32.8 .520 .344 .791 5.3 1.9 1.2 0.2 2.0 17.7
2022 Chicago 8 8 30.5 .452 .346 .795 3.8 0.9 1.6 0.4 1.8 16.8
2023 Chicago 2 2 34.5 .406 .455 .750 7.5 1.5 0.5 0.0 3.0 20.0
Career 5 years, 1 team 21 19 30.4 .492 .379 .775 4.1 1.5 1.4 0.2 1.8 16.5

Coaching career

Between the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons, Copper worked as an assistant coach for Purdue University Northwest's women's basketball team.[13]

References

  1. ^ "COPPER Kahleah". Olympics.com. 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Costabile, Annie (2021-07-17). "Kahleah Copper's All-Star debut just the beginning for young star from North Philly". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  3. ^ Cole, Damichael (June 30, 2021). "Prep Charter grad Kahleah Copper becomes the first Philly player since 2006 named to the WNBA All-Star game". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  4. ^ a b c d Hunt, Donald (October 11, 2021). "Former Prep Charter standout Kahleah Copper stars in the WNBA Finals". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  5. ^ Breitman, Aaron (2021-07-14). "Former Rutgers stars Kahleah Copper & Betnijah Laney making WNBA All-Star Game debuts". On the Banks. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  6. ^ "Kahleah Copper - 2015-16 Women's Basketball Roster - The Official Site of Rutgers Athletics". www.scarletknights.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  7. ^ Morrison, Sean (2017-02-02). "Elena Delle Donne trade: win for all three sides". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  8. ^ Costabile, Annie (2021-10-12). "The trade that brought Kahleah Copper to Chicago". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  9. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (2021-10-12). "'She's the best player out there sometimes': Chicago's Copper is the breakout player of the WNBA playoffs". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  10. ^ Ariail, Cat (2020-02-25). "With VanderQuigs returning, plus arrival of Azurá Stevens and Sydney Colson, is the Sky the limit for Chicago?". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  11. ^ "Kahleah Copper Returns to Chicago, Re-Signs With Sky". Chicago Sky. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  12. ^ Kenney, Madeline (2020-08-22). "Sky guard Kahleah Copper shining in starting role this season". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  13. ^ a b Kenney, Madeline (2020-12-05). "Sky star Kahleah Copper is taking an unexpected career turn in the offseason". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  14. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (2021-10-17). "WNBA Finals 2021: 10 biggest questions for the WNBA offseason". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  15. ^ Costabile, Annie (2022-01-13). "Sky put core designation on WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  16. ^ Costabile, Annie (2022-01-31). "Kahleah Copper will sign multiyear deal with the Sky". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  17. ^ Philippou, Alexa (February 6, 2024). "Sky trades Kahleah Copper to Mercury for WNBA draft picks, players". ESPN. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Kahleah Wins Spanish League Championship and MVP". 13 May 2022.
  19. ^ "North Philly's Kahleah Copper among WNBA stars representing Team USA at the FIBA World Cup". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2022-09-19. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  20. ^ Costabile, Annie (2023-02-09). "USA Basketball camp provides outlet for Sky star Kahleah Copper after time of 'emotional' free-agency news". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  • Career information and player statistics from WNBA.com, NCAA.org, and Basketball-Reference.com
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