Kahleah Copper (born August 28, 1994) 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.
.jpg) Copper with the Chicago Sky in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 2 – Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Shooting guard / small forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | August 28, 1994 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Prep Charter (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Girard College (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Rutgers (2012–2016) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2016: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Washington Mystics | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2023 | Chicago Sky | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Perfumerias Avenida | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at WNBA.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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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
editCopper is a native of North Philadelphia.[1] She attended and played for Girard College and the Preparatory Charter High School in Philadelphia.[2][3] 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.[3] 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).[4][3]
Professional career
editWNBA
editWashington Mystics (2016)
editCopper was drafted as the 7th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics.[5] 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.[6][7]
Chicago Sky (2017-2024)
editIn her first three seasons with the Sky, Copper generally came off the bench and averaged 6.7 to 7.1 points per game.[8] In 2020, she was re-signed by the Sky.[9][10] 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.[11][12][3]
Copper continued into her starting role in the 2021 season, and was named as an All-Star for the first time.[1] 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.[13]
In the offseason, the Sky used their one available "core player" designation for Copper, and subsequently signed her to a two-year contract.[14][15] 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)
editOn February 6, 2024, Copper was traded to the Phoenix Mercury alongside the rights to Morgan Bertsch on 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.
Overseas career
editIn the 2021–2022 season Copper played for Perfumerias Avenida in the Spanish League and the Euroleague. She was named the MVP of both leagues.[16]
International career
editIn September 2022, Copper was named to the USA international team ahead of the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.[17] 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.[18]
Career statistics
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| † | Denotes seasons in which Copper won a WNBA championship |
Regular season
edit| 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
edit| 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
editBetween the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons, Copper worked as an assistant coach for Purdue University Northwest's women's basketball team.[12]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Kahleah Copper - 2015-16 Women's Basketball Roster - The Official Site of Rutgers Athletics". www.scarletknights.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Morrison, Sean (2017-02-02). "Elena Delle Donne trade: win for all three sides". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- ^ Costabile, Annie (2021-10-12). "The trade that brought Kahleah Copper to Chicago". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Kahleah Copper Returns to Chicago, Re-Signs With Sky". Chicago Sky. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ^ Kenney, Madeline (2020-08-22). "Sky guard Kahleah Copper shining in starting role this season". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Voepel, Mechelle (2021-10-17). "WNBA Finals 2021: 10 biggest questions for the WNBA offseason". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ Costabile, Annie (2022-01-13). "Sky put core designation on WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ^ Costabile, Annie (2022-01-31). "Kahleah Copper will sign multiyear deal with the Sky". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ^ "Kahleah Wins Spanish League Championship and MVP". 13 May 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.