Kahleah Copper shines in Chicago return, leads Mercury to victory following Olympic triumph

Copper, fresh off her first Olympic appearance and gold medal alongside Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, traveled straight from Paris to the Windy City to meet her Mercury teammates ahead of the team’s first game back against the Sky. No time to return to Phoenix and get settled—just straight back to work.

Copper walked through the tunnel—fitted in her old Sky jersey—ready to attack.

Kahleah Copper wore her old Sky jersey to her first game back in Chicago since she was traded ????

She dropped 29 PTS against her former team and got the W ???? pic.twitter.com/mrt9BhyvYB

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2024

“For a very long time,” Copper said when asked how long she’d been planning to wear her jersey in her return to Chicago. “Y’all know I like to get dressed, so I thought I could put something together and look good, and be able to rep the city at the same time.”

The “homecoming” may not have been literal for the recent gold medalist, but Copper’s return to her old stomping grounds was nothing short of meaningful.

“It was special,” Copper said. “Especially coming off winning a gold medal, I think this was something that I’ve been building while I was here. Coming off of that and to be able to come here and be embraced by the city and by the fans, it means everything. I love this city.”

Copper finished with a game-high 29 points, going 12-of-19 from the field.

No vacation needed. pic.twitter.com/37YyUopzSb

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 16, 2024

Phoenix picked up right where it left off, outscoring the Sky 45-17 in the first 16 minutes of play. The deficit was eventually cut to 16 points, but the Mercury’s veteran group was able to keep its foot on the gas pedal and walk away victorious.

With such little time to regroup following the Paris Olympics, Phoenix’s veteranship and developed continuity throughout the season allowed it to shake off any rust the team may have had coming in.

“It helps having good veteran players,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said when asked about transitioning back to the season with such a short turnaround. “It shows how smart our starters are … We came out and executed.”

Tibbetts discussed the possibility of deploying a zone defense more often ahead of the game, and the early 2-3 zone threw a look at the Sky that proved to be a disruptor. Against a team that likes to attack the inside and crash the offensive glass, the Mercury held down the fort on the inside and made sure to push the pace in transition. This led to easier transition opportunities and forced Chicago to scramble at times in the half-court.

This zone defense was especially effective with the Sky missing the services of guard Chennedy Carter, who was out with a non-COVID illness. A shifty guard of that caliber is likely to break apart those zone defenses, and in her absence, guard Dana Evans came up with a team-high 14 points. But Carter is a momentum-swinger who was surely missed.

A large part of the discussion has been the evolution of Griner’s role in the offense. Tibbetts has implemented a more NBA-style offense, looking to space the floor and create opportunities through various off-ball actions that give players like Griner more room to work. Tibbetts has implemented more zoom actions and put Griner at the nail and the elbow—different variations of movements without the ball have quietly opened up her playmaking. Griner scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds—but also tallied six assists in the process.

tryna drop a bucket
and it’s prolly B-Grinerrrrrrrr ???? pic.twitter.com/n4OGORHKfT

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 16, 2024

“I see so [often] people collapsing on me, double-teaming. So somebody’s open,” Griner said when asked about her playmaking. “I’ve always wanted to be able to hit them and get them the ball. And then my teammates just trusting me, my coaching staff trusting me to be in that position where I can make those decisions.”

“One of the things we’ve talked about over the break was trying to get her the ball at the elbow more, just because she is a really good passer,” Tibbetts said. “In the post, teams have a decision to make. She knows how to play … Our group trusts her.”

The post-Olympic break fun has just begun, and the Mercury still believe their best basketball lies ahead.

“The sky is the limit … haha,” said Copper, with the pun fully intended. “When we’re all out there playing together, I just hope that we can continue to grow and make a real big push before the playoffs.”