First-time Olympian Kahleah Copper did it the hard way
PHOENIX — Kahleah Copper’s career trajectory can serve as an inspiration for the lunch-pail crowd.
She wasn’t a No. 1 overall pick, so she worked.
She averaged fewer than 20 minutes off the bench during her first four seasons in the WNBA, so she worked.
She had a breakout year in 2020 that was branded a fluke, so she worked.
After all that work, Copper is a four-time All-Star, a WNBA champion, a 2021 Finals MVP and now a first-time Olympian.
“I have this loyalty thing within me,” Copper said. “It would have been really nice [to become an Olympian] in Chicago because that was where I grew into the player that I am. However, being here, Phoenix has completely lightened my load. When I say I’m thriving, there’s a reason for that.”
Copper said with the Mercury, all she has to do is “worry about basketball and performing.” It’s a statement that speaks volumes about the Sky organization and her underlying reasons for requesting a trade five months after signing a max extension.
When she says she’s thriving in the desert, Copper isn’t exaggerating.
At the break, she’s second in the league in scoring (23.2 points per game) behind two-time MVP A’ja Wilson (27.2). Her eight games of 30 or more points are the most in the league, earning her a place in the MVP conversation.
When it comes to Copper’s game, coaches and general managers always knew she’d be a great wing.
The combination of athleticism and playing at Rutgers for the great C. Vivian Stringer essentially guaranteed she’d have a successful WNBA career. But for Copper, simply playing in the WNBA wasn’t enough. She wanted to become a league cornerstone.
“We always thought she had the ability to be an elite-level defender,” Mystics general manager and USA Basketball assistant coach Mike Thibault said. “We knew she could attack the basket. The biggest question mark for everybody is if she could become a consistent perimeter shooter.”
Thibault drafted Copper with the seventh pick in the 2016 draft. Her improvement began immediately. When the Sky’s franchise player, Elena Delle Donne, forced a trade in 2017 to the Mystics, Thibault wasn’t thrilled when the Sky requested that Copper be included in the package at the last minute.
Since her rookie season, Copper’s scoring has steadily improved. Last year, she was the Sky’s leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points and shooting a career-high 40.4% from three-point range. This season, on a team with future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, Copper is shining the brightest.
“The thing I love about Kah is she took the hard path,” Taurasi said. “A lot of times in our careers, you think things just happen maybe because they just should. When they don’t, it knocks a lot of people off the path. If anything, she did it the hard way. She’s earned every single thing that she’s received.”
One by one, Copper has crossed off all the goals on her checklist.
Of course, winning an Olympic gold medal hasn’t been achieved yet. But the USA women’s basketball team is the heavy favorite to win an eighth consecutive gold medal in Paris.
When Copper returns to league play against the Sky on Aug. 15, she’ll home in on the work required to accomplish her next goal. After everything she has crossed off, there’s still more to be done.
“All-Defensive teams,” Copper said when asked what she wanted to cross off next. “There aren’t too many two-way players in the league. There aren’t too many of us who can guard the best player on the other team and turn around and give you offense. I take pride in that, too.
“I’ve never been on an All-Defensive team, never been defensive player of the year. That’s what’s next. It’s never going to end.”