Kahleah Copper, the constant: A steady leader in a season of change for the Mercury

Copper didn’t need introductions when the Mercury opened training camp this spring, she was a link – one of only two returning players on the roster. She wore the franchise’s name across her chest through last year’s struggles, and now is steering the ship of a team with much higher postseason expectations than they had a year ago.

“Coming in with a new group, I think everyone did a good job,” Copper told reporters after a regular-season victory against the New York Liberty, who they will play in the first round of the upcoming WNBA playoffs. “One, buying into what we want to do, and then two, just sacrificing every day and staying patient and really believing in what we can do.”

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The Mercury’s transformation was underscored by the departures of their longtime cornerstones. Diana Taurasi retired, closing the book on a legendary two-decade career, while Brittney Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency. Their exits left Copper as a face of a franchise in transition.

In 2024, Copper was an All-Star, All-WNBA Second Team selection and led Phoenix with 21.1 points per game. With expectations to do the same going into this season, Copper faced a major setback: she underwent a left knee arthroscopy in May that sidelined her for the first 11 games of the regular season.

Natasha Mack, the other only returning player from the prior season, also missed the first few weeks of games with a lower back injury — leaving an entirely new group of players to navigate a competitive WNBA landscape.

“That was the cool thing about early in the year,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “They weren’t playing and they still had a voice, and now that they’re both playing well, I feel like it gives [them] confidence to speak up more.”

When Copper returned in June, she quickly reminded the league why she had been Phoenix’s go-to scorer a year ago. Her scoring punch and presence in the locker room gave the Mercury a lift, according to her teammates, at a time when their chemistry was still coming together. 

Forming a Big 3 with newcoming stars Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, Copper and the Mercury shocked much of the women’s basketball world and finished the regular season with a 27-17 record – good for a No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in round one of the playoffs. Copper’s 15.6 points per game are second on the team behind Sabally, and Thomas’ triple-double heroics put her in MVP conservations.

Now, with the playoffs on the horizon, Copper’s role extends beyond scoring. She’s one of the only players on the roster with deep postseason experience, winning a WNBA championship and Finals MVP with the Chicago Sky in 2021 (beating the Mercury). Her voice carries weight as Phoenix eyes a deeper run.

“Obviously Kah has won a championship before and AT has been very close.” Mercury rookie forward Kathryn Westbeld said. “You can just tell that they’re so hungry for a championship this year … everyone is so locked in, and they’re leading that.”

From experience, Copper knows that it will take more than just the Big 3 to win in the playoff atmosphere. The Mercury’s reserves, many of them rookies like Westbeld, will need to step up in big moments when the lights are the brightest.

“Moving into the playoffs, I just keep telling them, ‘Somebody’s going to have to make a really big impact,’ whether it’s you come in one minute and get a deflection, or you come in and you hit a big shot … ” Copper said. “ … So I think that’s my favorite thing about my perspective and being a leader — I know what they feel. So it’s just important for me to continue to pour into them.”

That hunger and leadership has translated into a different energy around the Mercury compared to a year ago. Few know that better than Mack, who has seen both the turbulence of 2024 and the steadier foundation of 2025.

“The vibes are better, that’s the best way to put it,” Mack said.

Still, the Mercury face an arduous path to the summit. They face the defending-champion Liberty in the first round, and then will likely face the league-best 34-10 Lynx in the second round who, of course, knocked them out a season ago. New York ranks third in net rating in the league, despite numerous injuries this season. Minnesota is first.

If they manage to get past those two titans, there’s a good chance the Mercury will see either the Las Vegas Aces or Dream in the WNBA Finals — Phoenix went a combined 1-6 against them in the regular season.

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“We will take whoever,” Copper said when previously asked about the possibility of playing the Liberty in the first round. “It really doesn’t matter at this point. I think we’re going to prepare, we’re going to do the things that we’re supposed to do, and whoever we got, we’re coming.”

This year’s Mercury team already beat the odds once, so they’re again aiming to prove that they’re a team no one can write off, even in the toughest playoff stretch.

“Super proud of our group for being such a new group together to make the strides we’ve had … ” Tibbetts said. “ … These are experiences that we need, and having Kah and Mack that have been through that with us last year, we can lean into that and that is going to help us down the road.”

The Next’s Kathleen Gier contributed reporting for this story.