Kahleah Copper returns to Chicago as an Olympic gold medalist

Nostalgia rippled through freshly minted Olympic gold medalist Kahleah Copper when she landed in Chicago on Monday night.

The familiar drive from O’Hare Airport into the city triggered a montage of memories. How could it not serve as sensory overload when for the last seven years Chicago has been the “second city” to the Philadelphia native.

However, along with the memories that accompanied her return — six months after requesting a trade — came a stark reflection.

“This was never supposed to happen,” Copper told the Sun-Times.

Her departure in February to lay roots in a third place she’d call home — far from the screeching city sounds of her first two residences — was as abrupt as it was difficult.

As she stated, leaving the Sky wasn’t supposed to happen. Surely not four months after sitting beside newly appointed coach Teresa Weatherspoon as she was introduced to the media. Copper and Weatherspoon were supposed to usher in a new era for the Sky — together. That’s what was touted last October as the two shared a stage along with operating chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson.

One harsh reality served as the propellant for Copper’s redirection. The franchise that helped shape the player she has become — a four-time All-Star, Finals MVP, WNBA champion and now Olympic gold medalist — would not give rise to her next iteration of greatness.

“Sometimes, if you’re too loyal, you can get burned,” Copper said.

“[The trade request] was about me putting myself first and getting comfortable having those uncomfortable conversations.”

Copper said there wasn’t one specific catalyst that prompted her decision to tell Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca she wanted to be moved. Instead, it was a lingering question in her mind that she couldn’t seem to shake.

“What are we doing?”

That question arose time and time again for Copper after she signed a two-year supermax extension with the Sky in September, hours before the deadline. She was enticed to sign it after promises were made about the direction the Sky were headed.

However, the expectation Copper had for the next stage of her career couldn’t be met in Chicago.

“I used to say ‘It doesn’t matter where I practice. I’m a hooper,’ ” Copper said. “But that s–t matters. When you experience [a professional environment], it alleviates pressure and problems other places.”

Copper went on to mention specifics like the ease of traveling to and from her home on gamedays.

Sky players stay in a hotel near Wintrust Arena the night before games because of traffic issues traveling from Deerfield — where team-provided housing is — to the South Loop. These circumstances create an experience of essentially being on the road for the entire five-month season.

Reflecting back on her seven seasons in Chicago, Copper said she wasn’t bothered by the state of affairs because she had grown accustomed to the meager amenities. It wasn’t until Copper left that she became mindful of the basic provisions she was missing.

Copper’s inferences reinforce a mentality that exists within the Sky organization. Over the years, players and coaches have exuded a sense of pride in making do with less.

Weatherspoon frequently emphasizes that her team doesn’t need all the bells and whistles to win. When the franchise announced plans for a new practice facility, Weatherspoon shared her excitement but quickly followed it up with a sentiment that the Sky have “more than enough.”

However, the franchise’s history of fleeing stars exposed a need for change.

“When all I have to worry about is being the best version of myself on the court, because I’m with a franchise that gives me all the tools to excel, you get the results,” Copper said.

Six months into the first year of her two-year contract with the Mercury, Copper is the WNBA’s second leading scorer (23.2 points) behind two-time MVP A’ja Wilson. She’s fresh off a gold-medal game performance that many are crediting for having clinched the U.S.’ 67-66 victory against France.

Copper finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists after which Wilson — who averaged a double-double in Olympic play and was named MVP — had two words to describe her teammate.

“That b—h,” Wilson said in her postgame interview.

When Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was informed Copper had requested a trade, he spent the next 24 hours buried in her film in preparation for their meeting. After his disbelief that she was even available subsided, he replaced it with another thought.

“The exciting thing for us and her is that we were getting her in her prime,” Tibbetts said.

In his first year as a WNBA head coach — preceded by a 18-year career in the NBA and its developmental league — Tibbetts has Copper playing the best basketball of her career. She is the leading scorer on a Mercury team that includes future Hall-of-Fame players, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.

On Thursday, when the eighth-place Sky faces the sixth-place Mercury, Copper will be celebrated with a tribute video that will attempt to cleanse the franchise of the fact it was forced to say goodbye to another franchise star. Copper’s game, however, will continue to serve as an unforgiving reminder that her career in Chicago didn’t have to end this way.