PHOENIX — It’s been an interesting season for Kahleah Copper and the Phoenix Mercury. It started with high expectations, as Copper was projected to take on a higher scoring load following the departure of Satou Sabally, but things got off to a rocky start.
Through the first 14 games, the Mercury were 4-10 and Copper was going through the most lopsided shooting slump of her 11-year career. After a June 11 loss to the Dallas Wings in which the 31-year-old shot just 30% from the field, her season field-goal percentage dropped to 32.8% on 204 attempts — by far the lowest in a season for her whole career.
Then, everything changed.
Despite it being in another losing effort, Copper had arguably the best game of her career against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 13. She scored a career-high 41 points, including six 3-point field goals and 16 total field goals — both career highs, as well. Also, for the first time in the 2026 season, she shot above 50% in a game.
The Mercury ultimately lost the game 111-102 in overtime, as Sparks guard Kelsey Plum had her own career night. But after the game, a different Copper than what’s been seen all year stepped up to the press conference podium — one that was obviously frustrated with the loss, but in a way that showed her spark of confidence was renewed after finally having a breakthrough game.
“I’ve been fucking overthinking the past however many games, I’m past that,” Copper said. “Just hoop. I want to win, whatever it takes — making the right play, or hitting shots. I’m just taking an open shot, taking the easy one, not overdoing it. That’s really it.”
Confidence is key
That simplified “shooters shoot” approach is exactly what Copper previously told reporters would get her through the slump just days earlier. Although it sounds pretty straightforward, for a four-time All-Star who has scored over 4,000 career points, sometimes the smartest adjustment is no adjustment at all — letting the percentages naturally work their way back to the mean.
Beginning with her 41-point outburst and ending with Phoenix’s most recent game against the Chicago Sky on June 7, Copper is on a stretch where she’s averaging 26.8 points on 53.5% shooting in eight games — the highest scoring average in the entire WNBA during that span.
She has scored 20 points or more in all but one of those contests, and has yet to dip below 40% shooting in any of those games, despite doing so in 12 of the 13 games before the stretch.
“I’m very proud of her,” teammate Natasha Mack said of Copper after her 41-point performance. “I see work she puts in daily, so this was bound to come. When she’s going, it’s great for us. It’s great for the team. She’s one of our leaders, and we couldn’t do this without her.”
Confidence can spread like wildfire for elite scorers. Once Copper finally saw a few shots fall, the hesitation disappeared and the aggression grew exponentially. Every make fueled the next one, and with it came the swagger that has defined her decorated career.
Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has recognized that phenomenon as the main catalyst that has caused her hot streak. Like Copper, he hasn’t necessarily changed the gameplan too drastically to get her better looks or more touches. He simply believes the biggest change happened between the ears, not on the whiteboard.
“From what I’ve seen, it’s just mentally,” Tibbetts said on Tuesday when asked how he’s seen Copper adjust. “I think she just tried to find the joy again … She’s smiling a lot more, and it’s not just because she’s playing better. She kind of started that on her own. It can get heavy and a little bit lonely when you’re not playing as well as you expect, and I’m just super proud of her for continuing to stay with it.
“I knew personally that it was going to get a break at some point, you don’t know when, just because I know how good a player she is,” he continued. “I’m super happy for her that she is finding that excitement again. You could see it in how she’s carrying herself, and she’s just going out there and moving. I think early in the year she was overthinking it, and we were probably overthinking it because we weren’t playing well collectively, me included.”
Attacking the glass
The biggest sign of Copper’s growing confidence is shown in her numbers in getting to the rim. While her jump shot has gotten better too, Copper has still shown a conscious effort not to settle from mid or long range, and instead get into the teeth of the defense at the rim. From there, she’s been often able to finish with elite touch or be fouled and sent to the free throw line.
At one point during the hot streak, Copper was shooting 25-of-28 from within the restricted area. On the season, she’s now 69-of-93 from that zone, her second-most common area to shoot from only behind the above-the-break 3-pointer. In the last eight games, it has felt like Phoenix’s best scoring runs as a team are highlighted by multiple tough Copper finishes.
“Oh damn, that’s great, huh?” Copper said when told about her finishing stats postgame against the Toronto Tempo on June 27. “Shoutout to [assistant coach TC Swirsky]. “We’ve just been getting after working on my finishes. I think getting downhill is a big part of my game, and so I just had to get back to it. Especially early in the game, being able to get downhill, draw some fouls, and just feel comfortable within the game.”
Tibbetts added, “Everybody was making a big deal on how [Copper] was playing early in the year. You got to believe in the player that she’s been over the course of her career. She’s an elite rim attacker now. I think she’s done a really good job of implementing and working to her left-hand finishes. I think that’s something that she’s extremely proud of, and she should be.”
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Can she keep it up?
The run Copper is currently on has revived her season field-goal percentage, now at 41%. While that’s still the third lowest of her career and lowest during her time with Phoenix, continued positive regression toward her career average would still leave plenty of room for improvement, even if the pace she’s currently enjoying is unsustainable.
One stat that has yet to catch up, however, is Copper’s 3-point percentage. A 35.3% career 3-point shooter before this season started, at 27.1% this season, Copper is shooting at the lowest clip of her career from beyond the arc.
While always a threat from long range, 3-point shooting has never been the main aspect of Copper’s game. That’s why it’s worth noting that, despite the career-low percentage, she is still attempting threes at a career-high rate, currently taking 6.3 per game. That added volume could be why the percentage skews to be lower, or it could simply be the prime example of the mindset to not let the misses stop her from having the green light.
“It’s really that simple,” Copper said following a 30-point outing against the Seattle Storm on July 2. She made two of her five 3-point attempts in the game. “I didn’t do anything different, still got my extra work. Shooters shoot, that’s it.”
But the impact of Copper’s resurgence hasn’t only been measured by the points she’s putting on the scoreboard. While her 20.8 points per game is the second-highest average of her career, the way she has influenced games during this stretch goes far beyond her scoring output. The same confidence that has allowed her to attack the basket and shoot freely has also translated into a willingness to impact the game in the less glamorous areas.
Over the last eight games, Copper is averaging more than one offensive rebound per game, including two games in which she secured three. Those scrappy effort plays to gain extra possessions have been a crucial and creative way to not only allow her to get chances at the rim more often, but also control the flow of the game to help her team win.
For a player who has always been capable of taking over a game with her scoring, finding ways to make an impact without relying solely on putting the ball in the basket has been another sign of her evolution — and it manifests itself in all different parts of her game, including defense and playmaking.
“I think just defensively and offensively, for me, if I’m able to crash and I’m able to initiate the offense [when the] defense isn’t set, that’s easy for me to get in the [drag screens] and be able to play downhill early,” Copper said. “Second chance opportunities is just knowing matchups and getting in the right position to crash, so just getting us extra possessions, whatever it takes.”
The result of Copper’s all-around impact has been a noticeable shift in Phoenix’s fortunes after a miserable start to the season. Before losing to Chicago on Tuesday, the Mercury had won three consecutive games and four of their previous five, putting themselves firmly back within striking distance of a playoff spot. In a season that’s starting to have more and more parity, anything can happen in the playoffs, so just getting there will be huge for a Mercury team that once appeared to be fading away.
Beyond just the standings, Phoenix has featured one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league during this most recent stretch, with Copper leading the team in scoring in each of the last five games.
One thing that never wavered for Copper whether she was hot or cold was her leadership in the locker room, although even that part of her personality has gained more juice as she and the team have found more success.
“She’s an amazing player. Last year, she’s an amazing vet for me,” teammate Lexi Held said of Copper. “Great example, on and off the court of how the game should be played and how to be a great teammate. And obviously she’s incredibly talented, I love watching her play, love playing alongside her. She makes my job a lot easier. Just super happy to be on the scene with her again.”
While Copper may not officially be an All-Star as the break approaches, she’s certainly playing like one right now. But what’s more important to her and the Mercury is that in what’s seemed like a blink of an eye, she’s flipped the switch from being one of the league’s coldest players to one of the hottest.
Whether she continues this pace or cools down slightly, the next step is to capture the momentum and amplify it further. The biggest victory for Copper hasn’t just been seeing the shots fall again; rather, it has been rediscovering the confidence to play freely. After weeks of searching for answers, she has found them in the simplest way possible: trusting the work, trusting her instincts and continuing to let the game come to her.
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