Kahleah Copper didn’t take any detours after winning her first gold medal with the U.S. women’s national team in the Paris Olympics.
The former Sky star flew straight from Paris to Chicago, making her first return to the city since she was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in February. Before her first rematch against the Sky on Thursday at Wintrust Arena, she enjoyed a few rare days of rest in her former home — grabbing some cake from Portillo’s, getting out on Lake Michigan and celebrating in the same place where she built the foundation of her Olympic success. This wasn’t how Copper envisioned bringing gold back to Chicago.
Even after the departures of Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot — the two other pillars of the 2021 championship team on which Copper broke out as WNBA Finals MVP — the wing was locked in with the Sky. But the uncertainty of the team’s future after a coaching transition and a fruitless free agency last winter led Copper to push for a trade to a title contender. It was a logical move.
Copper immediately found the success she was seeking in Phoenix, trailing only A’ja Wilson in scoring this season and finding mentorship in veteran teammates such as Diana Taurasi. Copper helped fuel the U.S.
comeback in the gold-medal game , earning a shining accolade from Wilson: “She’s that b—-.” And the Sky have turned the loss into a success of their own, using the No. 3 pick gained in the Copper trade to anchor a rebuild around rookie stars .