Kahleah Copper Scoring at Franchise Record Pace

Mercury guard Kahleah Copper just became the fastest in franchise history to score 1,000 points, doing so in a record 51 games.

Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) lays the ball in past Connecticut Sun guard Leila Lacan (47) during the first quarter at PHX Arena on Aug. 5, 2025, in Phoenix. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kahleah Cooper's box score stats from Thursday night's win against the Indiana Fever may not jump off the page -- she had 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, six boards, and four assists -- but in that game, the skilled veteran guard got herself in the conversation with the great scorers in Phoenix Mercury history.

In just her second season with the team, Copper has now scored over 1,000 points in a Mercury uniform, making her the fastest player in franchise history to hit that mark.

She hit the milestone in just 51 games, surpassing the previous record of 55 games, set by Jennifer Gillom, a former MVP runner-up who began her career with the Mercury in 1997 during the WNBA's inaugural season. Gillom's best season came in 1998, when the 6'3" forward averaged 20.9 points for a Mercury team that finished with a 19-11 record (coincidentally, the 2025 Mercury are 19-11 as of this writing).

Copper arrived in Phoenix in the 2024 offseason as a former franchise nemesis. After the 2021 Mercury shocked the league with a run to the WNBA Finals, they met the Chicago Sky, who had finished just 16-16 in the regular season.

The Sky easily handled Phoenix in the Finals, winning three games to one, and Copper managed to outduel Phoenix stars Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins en route to a Finals MVP award. She put up 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the series and shot 50% from the field. She had the game-high in scoring in both Game 1 and Game 3, the latter of which was a 36-point blowout win for the Sky.

May 13, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Chicago Sky guard Kahleah Copper (2) drives to the net against Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton (6) during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

When she arrived in Phoenix, she showed Mercury fans the same scoring touch that had vexed them back in 2021. Copper scored a career-high (and team-high) 21.1 points per game in her first season in purple and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team and the WNBA All-Star Game. Her scoring pace has slowed a bit this season (15.9 points per game) now that the Phoenix roster has more high-scoring players on it, but she's developed into a lethal three-point shooter, knocking down 44% of her shots from deep, adding yet another dimension to her game.

With a lethal first step and a deep bag of moves to beat defenders, it's no surprise that Copper has been getting buckets at this pace. Only time will tell if she will someday get another chance to show Mercury fans what she can do in the Finals, but this time on the home team.

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