PHOENIX – Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbets believes that good leaders speak through actions and words. For the majority of the 2025 season, Kahleah Copper has been limited to her words.
This wasn’t the case in her second game back from injury. In 37 minutes of action against the Connecticut Sun on June 18, Copper shot 0-for-7 before hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to help secure a 83-75 win.
In three games, she’s averaging 13.3 points, 2 assists and 2.3 steals per game as one of the only remaining players from the Mercury’s 2024 roster. Expectations remained high in Phoenix in her absence thanks to the contributions of offseason additions Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas.
“We obviously have missed her, and (the other players) know she’s super excited to get going,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said pregame against the Sun. “We’re super excited to get her back.”
With three players of their caliber, and solid role players around them, along with Tibbets being in his second year with the team, the thought was that the transition into the new era of Mercury basketball would be smooth.
Phoenix has built a balanced roster with a mix of everything. Thomas can distribute the ball, Sabally can score in a variety of ways and with Copper’s quickness and big-shot ability returning to the court, the veteran guard will be another reason why the Mercury are considered WNBA title contenders with an 11-4 record, third-best in the league. The Mercury will rest until Friday’s next game against the New York Liberty (11-3).
“I’m really excited for the next three days for her to get some practice in and get some of that rust off,” Tibbetts said Tuesday.
Copper has returned to the court on a minutes restriction, averaging 21 minutes per game. Even though she’s still trying to find the rhythm with her shot, her presence has been felt in a short time. Copper made her return at the beginning of the Mercury’s four-game road trip, where they went undefeated as part of a five-game winning streak. In Saturday’s win against the Chicago Sky, Phoenix hit a franchise record 17 3-pointers, with Copper knocking down two 3-pointers.
“She put a ton of time into her shooting this offseason,” Tibbetts said on June 15. “Her numbers really improved. And so I think we’re going to see Kah (attack) the rim. That’s who she is, but you’re also going to see her be more comfortable with her catch-and-shoot stuff.”
To start her WNBA career, most of Copper’s production came as a reserve. She became a starter in 2020, but began to make her mark during the 2021 season.
In 2021, she became an all-star and averaged 18 points a game on her way to a WNBA Finals victory and MVP award. Since then, she has evolved into an All-Star, and her points per game have increased from 14.4 to 21.1 last season.
The 2024 season was her first year in Phoenix, and she did not disappoint. While averaging a career high in points, she earned selections to the WNBA All-Star team and the All-WNBA Second Team.
Entering this season, the Mercury had a different look. With pillars of the organization like Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner no longer on the team, Copper has taken on more of a leadership role.
With Copper being one of the only players to return from last year’s team, the buy-in she displayed during the offseason has been important for the new players to see.
“I’ve been on the bench, just so hyped, just watching them have so much success,” Copper said. “And that’s what I wanted in the offseason, when I was bugging them about coming here. This is what I wanted. I wanted them to come here and have success and enjoy it with me.”
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