WNBA preview: Copper ready to accept lead role for new-look Sky
This is being billed as the year of the superteam in the WNBA.
The defending champion Las Vegas Aces added Candace Parker to a mix that already included 2022 MVP A'ja Wilson and top scorer Kelsey Plum.
The New York Liberty counters with a squad featuring two former MVPs - Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones - plus Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu.
So where does this leave the Sky, which won a championship with Parker and Vandersloot two years ago?
Trying to battle for that No. 3 spot, it would seem, with a team built around Kahleah Copper.
The 6-foot-1 wing was the Sky's leading scorer the past two seasons, but was able to fly under the radar a bit with Parker, Vandersloot and Allie Quigley as teammates. Now the team belongs to Copper.
"You know, new is not always bad," Copper said this week after practice in Deerfield. "I think we have a great group. We're here building that chemistry. We have a lot of different personalities. I think there's a lot of unselfish people who just want to make us better."
Copper and the Sky will open the 2023 season at Minnesota on Friday. A trip to Phoenix follows Sunday, leading up to the home opener against Washington on May 26 at Wintrust Arena.
The Sky will look much different, with just three players left from the 2021 championship squad. But Vandersloot, Parker and Quigley were all on the back end of their careers. The goal, according to fifth-year coach James Wade, was to build a roster that matches well with Copper.
With training camp and three preseason games in the books, Copper feels confident the plan will work. She's expecting the Sky to be aggressive defensively, then get out and run.
"One hundred percent," she said. "I think if you look at the players that are to my right and to my left, we have Courtney Williams, Marina Mabrey, these are competitors. These are people I want to go to war with. These players are great and they definitely complement who I am on the court and want to get after it want to win."
Williams is the Sky's top free-agent addition. The 5-8 guard was an all-star with Atlanta two years ago, then averaged 11.1 points for Connecticut last season.
The Sky acquired Mabrey, a former Notre Dame star, in a trade with Dallas, giving up two first-round picks plus a pick swap. The 5-11 guard was a late arrival after playing Italy and practiced with the team for the first time on Wednesday.
"We already had a couple home runs (in practice)," Copper said. "I'm getting runouts already, so I'm loving that connection we're trying to build. These things don't happen overnight, but I definitely knew what she's capable of."
Besides Copper, the other two holdovers from the championship team are 5-6 guard Dana Evans and 6-4 forward Ruthy Hebard. Evans is expected to take on a bigger role after averaging just 4.3 points last year. Hebard is with the team, but has yet to start practicing after giving birth to a son on April 11.
There's been bad news already. The Sky announced Isabelle Harrison, a free agent addition, will miss extended time with a knee injury, and it sounds like it could be a season-ender. She scored 11 and 15 points in the first two preseason games. According to Spotrac.com, Harrison signed a two-year deal with the Sky worth $320,000, making her and Williams the team's third-highest paid players after Copper and Mabrey.
Li Yueru, a 6-7 center from China who played in 16 games last year, had her contract suspended due to a non-WNBA injury. Newcomer Elizabeth Williams missed part of camp with a concussion, but was cleared to return to practice Wednesday.
A pleasant surprise in camp was 6-4 forward Morgan Bertsch, who stepped into the starting lineup and scored 12 points in the preseason finale. She finished college at UC-Davis in 2019 and has been playing overseas, but has yet to see action in the WNBA.
The Sky had success with an experienced WNBA rookie last year in Rebekah Gardner, who averaged 8.4 points at age 32, and will again have a significant role. A couple of WNBA veterans who figure to play roles Friday are 6-4 Alanna Smith and 6-4 Kristine Anigwe.
Amid calls for the league to expand, creating more teams and roster spots, it's possible the Sky could add players released by other teams, but Wade downplayed that possibility Wednesday.
"I think right now, maybe the solution is in the gym," Wade said. "There's going to be some good players that get cut, but they haven't been with us, they haven't been a part of our culture."
The biggest reason for optimism might be Wade. The Sky had 10 losing seasons in its first 13 of existence, but have finished .500 or better four years in a row since Wade took over.
"I have faith in this group," Copper said. "We have great pieces here, top to bottom. I know it takes teams a while to build that chemistry, learning each other, but just building off (the preseason finale in) Canada, I think we're in a good place. We can only get better."
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