Kahleah Copper
WNBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Kahleah Copper · see source
Kahleah Copper, born August 28, 1994, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and for Rose of Unrivaled. She was selected seventh overall in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics and traded to the Chicago Sky the following year.
After three seasons as a bench player, Copper moved into a starting role in 2020 and emerged as a star, earning her first WNBA All-Star selection in 2021. That same year, she led the Sky to their first championship and was named WNBA Finals MVP. Copper also won an Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Professional career
Kahleah Copper entered the WNBA as the seventh pick in the 2016 draft, chosen by the Washington Mystics. She came off the bench as a rookie, logging 16.2 minutes and 6.2 points per game. That offseason, she was part of a blockbuster trade that sent Elena Delle Donne to Washington and brought Stefanie Dolson, Copper, and the second overall pick in the 2017 draft to the Chicago Sky. For her first three seasons in Chicago, Copper remained a reserve, scoring between 6.7 and 7.1 points per game.
The Sky re-signed her in 2020, and when the season moved to a bubble because of the pandemic, she stepped into the starting lineup. She led the team in scoring that year with 14.8 points per game. In 2021, Copper earned her first All-Star selection. She averaged 14.4 points during the regular season and raised that to 17.7 in the playoffs, carrying the Sky to their first championship and winning Finals MVP.
Chicago used its core player designation on Copper that offseason and signed her to a two-year deal. She made another All-Star team in 2022, and the Sky returned to the postseason but fell in the semifinals in five games. On February 6, 2024, Copper was traded to the Phoenix Mercury, along with the rights to Morgan Bertsch. In return, the Sky received Michaela Onyenwere, Brianna Turner, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick, and the right to swap 2026 second-round picks.
Unrivaled
The Associated Press credited Copper as instrumental in helping the Mercury reach the 2025 WNBA Finals, and she re-signed with Phoenix in April 2026. During the 2021–2022 season, Copper played for Perfumerias Avenida in Spain, earning MVP honors in both the Spanish League and the Euroleague. On July 17, 2024, it was announced she would join the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. She plays for Rose BC, which won the first Unrivaled championship.
Career statistics and honours
Medals
- Gold 2024 Paris Team
- Gold World Cup — 2022 Australia
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 | |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Kahleah Copper (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
Did You Know?
- Copper finished her college career at Rutgers with the third-most points in team history, scoring 1,872 points.
- Copper worked as an assistant coach for Purdue University Northwest's women's basketball team between the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons.
- She was part of the USA team that went undefeated at the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and won the gold medal.
More in Basketball Players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Kahleah Copper (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
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