CHICAGO — Fifteen hours after the Chicago Sky took a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, the scoreboards remained on inside Wintrust Arena. The most lopsided score in Finals history — 86-50 — remained lit in bright white lights as if the operator was waiting for Kahleah Copper to score again.
The Chicago Sky’s star forward dropped 22 points, including 20 in the first half, in just under 24 minutes as her nearly waist-length ponytail was basically a blur, the tail of a comet blowing past Phoenix Mercury defenders. One of the biggest story lines coming into the Finals was the return of two-time MVP Candace Parker to the Finals, trying to bring her hometown of Chicago its first WNBA championship. Copper has rewritten that narrative with the Sky seeking to close out the series Sunday.
“Hopefully, she doesn’t show up to the gym. That’d be nice,” cracked Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, a three-time champion. “The kid’s playing really, really well. She’s been playing well for a long time now, going back to the bubble. I was at USA camp with her, and she was unbelievable there, too. I mean, the kid’s just really, really good.
“We have to make sure we make it a team effort. It’s not the person guarding her, it’s everyone behind her, and we have to do a better job of that.”
Copper picked the perfect time to be playing the best basketball of her six-year WNBA career. She earned her first all-star appearance in the summer, helped lead her team to the Finals and is the third-highest scorer in the postseason (18.6 points) among those who played more than one game. The Philadelphia product by way of Rutgers has always had lofty aspirations, but this run may have exceeded them.
“It's definitely catching me off guard,” Copper said. “Dreams of playing in the WNBA for me didn't come until late. But getting here? Yeah, I wanted to win a championship, but like my younger self [picturing all this]? No, no.”
The journey has been far from direct. Drafted in the first round by the Washington Mystics in 2016, she got word she was traded to Chicago while playing overseas after her rookie season. That was a quick lesson in the business of professional basketball.
The silver lining was being part of a deal for MVP Elena Delle Donne. Mystics General Manager and Coach Mike Thibault didn’t want to include her in the trade, but Chicago asked for Copper at the 11th hour, and Thibault pulled the trigger.
“We were dying not to give her in the trade,” Thibault said. “We resisted, and it’s finally what we had to settle on to do it. A good trade is one that benefits both teams. We got our championship out of the trade, and they may get theirs out of it.
“I keep saying to myself, I wish they would have never asked. Our heart sank when they finally asked for her in the deal. We thought we were kind of home free.”
Thibault said he has long had a special affinity for Rutgers players because they usually come into the league well prepared, especially on the defensive end. He said they seem to blossom offensively in the league and he remembers that Copper wasn’t a great outside shooter but was determined to get better. Now she’s shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from behind the arc in the playoffs.
Rutgers assistant coach Michelle Edwards noted that Copper was special from the day she stepped on campus in New Jersey. The natural athleticism and talent were one thing, but she also had a desire to learn and be coached. Copper was actually a power forward when she first joined the Scarlet Knights, but Coach C. Vivian Stringer said she’d need to work on her guard skills to play at the next level.
Now opponents can’t stay in front of her on the perimeter and her energy and aggression are relentless.
“Kahleah never took a play off in practice, in the game, always full of energy,” Edwards said. “And just loved the game. That’s something special. She had that 'it’ factor because everyone doesn’t have it, as we all know. You hear professional athletes talk about that all the time, but Kahleah is certainly one that did have the ‘it’ factor.”
Copper credits her Philadelphia roots for that mind-set. She plays with an edge, as evidenced by a play in Game 2 when Copper and Sophie Cunningham collided while going after a loose ball. Cunningham tried to snatch the ball away after the whistle. Copper wasn’t having it. She hopped and got in Cunningham’s face with a few select words before an official and teammate Courtney Vandersloot guided her away.
“I’m going to say it like this: She ain’t no punk,” Edwards said with a laugh. “She. Aint. No. Punk.
“At Rutgers, you’ve got to be tough, man. … She’s a sweetheart, but at the same time, she’s no pushover.”
The Mercury has learned this during the first three games. Coach Sandy Brondello acknowledged, “we can’t stop everything,” but they hope to guide her toward the help defense when driving instead of letting her get to the rim. Brondello wants Copper to shoot from the outside, but nights such as Friday happen when she’s both knocking down three-pointers and beating defenders off the dribble.
Sky Coach James Wade said none of this is a surprise.
“Now she’s letting the world know,” Wade said. “It’s just who she is.”
Read more on basketball:
