BIO:
Height: 6-1
Position: G/F
Years Pro: 7
College/Country: Rutgers/United States
Drafted: Washington Mystics (No. 7 overall in 2016)
2023 SEASON OVERVIEW: Kahleah Copper continued her ascent through the Sky’s all-time franchise leaderboards in 2023 and led the Sky to their fifth-straight playoff berth this season.
The 6-foot-1 star led the Sky in scoring again this season, averaging a career-high 18.7 points while starting in all 38 of her appearances this year. Copper was named to the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game, her third straight, and tallied her career high for scoring in an All-Star Game with 16 points.
From July 22 to August 8, Copper had one of the most productive stretches of her career, averaging 25.4 points while shooting 53.1% from the floor (16.1 FGA) and 47.4% from deep (5.4 3-FGA). During that stretch, she set her then-career high in scoring with 29 points on July 22 against Seattle before breaking it with 37 points against the Las Vegas Aces the next game on July 25. With the 37 points, Copper joined one of five Sky players, including Marina Mabrey, to record a 35+ point game in a season.
In another of her most productive games this year, Copper recorded 18 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, a career-high five steals, and four assists in a crucial August 27 road win against the Seattle Storm. Copper scored in double figures in 35 of her 38 appearances and joined Sylvia Fowles, Epiphanny Prince and Elena Delle Donne as the only players to average more than 18.0 points per game in a single season in Sky history. Her 18.7 points this season are the fourth-highest scoring average in franchise history. Her 710 total points this season are the second-most in a single season in franchise history, 15 points behind Elena Delle Donne in 2015.
Copper moved up to third in Sky history in 20+ point games in a single season with 17 games, passing Delle Donne (2016) at 13 games. She also tied for third in 25+ point games in a single season with Fowles (2011) at seven games.
Though she began the year as the Sky’s ninth-highest scorer in franchise history, she moved to fourth by year’s end with 2,676 points in a Sky uniform.
To cap her prolific year, Copper signed a multi-year extension with the Sky on September 10.
TOP-10 ALL-TIME SKY FRANCHISE RECORDS:
- 5 in Minutes Played (5,260)
- 4 in Games Played (224)
- 4 in Field Goals Made (990)
- 4 in Points (2,676)
- 8 in Assists (313)
- 8 in Steals (133)
- 10 in Offensive Rebounds (155)
- 5 in Defensive Rebounds (644)
- 5 in Total Rebounds (599)
- 5 in Field Goal Percentage (45.2)
- 4 in Three-Pointers Made (201)
- 7 in Three-Point Percentage (35.6)
- 4 in Free Throws Made (495)
- 8 in Free Throw Percentage (79.1)
2023 SEASON MILESTONES:
- June 2 — Reached 600 career defensive rebounds
- June 6 — Passed Candice Dupree (2,100) for sixth all time in points scored in Sky history with 2,110
- June 9 — Tied Elenea Delle Donne for fifth on the Sky’s all-time three-pointers made list with 147
- June 9 — Passed Epiphanny Prince (2,125) for fifth all time in points scored in Sky history with 2,126
- June 18 — Tied Jessica Breland for sixth on the Sky’s all-time defensive rebound list with 549
- June 18 — Passed Candice Dupree (259) for 10th on the Sky’s all-time assist list
- June 22 — Passed Epiphanny Prince (1,776) for sixth on the Sky’s all-time shot attempt list with 1,785
- June 25 — Passed Elena Delle Donne (2,155) for fourth on the Sky’s all-time points list with 2,183
- June 25 — Tied Diamond DeShields for eighth on the Sky’s list of 20+ point scoring games, reaching 21 games of 20+ points in her Sky career (6/25)
- July 7 — Tied Allie Quigley for fifth on the Sky’s all-time defensive rebound list 572
- July 9 — Passed Jia Perkins (1,859) for fourth on the Sky’s all-time shot attempts list with 1,873
- July 9 — Passed Dominique Canty (528) for sixth on the Sky’s all-time free throw attempts list with 534
- July 12 — Passed Jia Perkins (465) for fourth on the Sky’s all-time three-point attempts list with 468
- July 15 — Appeared in her third career and third straight All-Star Game
- July 25 — Had the fifth-most points in a single game in Sky history with 37 points
- July 25 — Passed Sylvia Fowles (1,928) for third on the Sky’s all-time shot attempts list, finishing with 1,945 attempts
- July 25 — Tied Jia Perkins for fourth on the Sky’s all-time three-pointers list with 170
- July 28 — Passed Allie Quigley (447) for sixth on the Sky’s all-time free throws made list with 449
- July 30 — Passed Epiphanny Prince (567) for fifth on the Sky’s all-time free throw attempt list with 571
- Aug. 4 — Tied Candice Dupree for fifth on the Sky’s all-time free throw list with 459 made free throws
- Aug. 13 — Tied Cheyenne Parker for sixth on the Sky’s all-time rebounds list with 754
- Aug. 13 — Reached 200 career made three-pointers
- Aug. 18 — Reached 1,000 career made field goals
- Aug. 24 — Passed Stefanie Dolson (296) for eighth on the Sky’s all-time assists list with 297
- Aug. 27 — Reached 250 career games played
- Aug. 27 — Passed Jessica Breland (779) for fifth on the Sky’s all-time rebounds list with 780
- Aug. 27 — Reached 700 career defensive rebounds
- Sept. 5 — Moved past Epiphanny Prince for fifth on the Sky’s list of 20+ point scoring games, reaching 33 games of 20+ points in her Sky career
- Sept. 17 — Passed Courtney Vandersloot (28 made threes in the playoffs with the Sky) for second on the Sky’s all-time postseason three-pointers list with 30
- Sept. 17 — Passed Jessica Breland (93 rebounds in playoffs with the Sky) for sixth on the Sky’s all-time postseason rebounds list with 102
- Sept. 17 — Passed Allie Quigley (99 rebounds in playoffs with the Sky) for fourth on the Sky’s all-time postseason rebounds list with 102
- Sept. 17 — Passed Jessica Breland (65 defensive rebounds in playoffs with Sky) for sixth on the Sky’s all-time postseason defensive rebounds list with 69
- Sept. 17 — Passed Azurá Stevens (67 defensive rebounds in playoffs with Sky) for fifth on the Sky’s all-time postseason defensive rebounds list with 69
- Sept. 17 — Passed Azurá Stevens (32 offensive rebounds in playoffs with Sky) for second on the Sky’s all-time postseason offensive rebounds list with 33
- Sept. 17 — Extended her streak of consecutive games scoring 10+ points in the playoffs, reaching 22 straight games, which ranks second among active players and 10th all time