Kahleah Copper was hit with a WNBA warning letter after picking up her fifth technical foul of the season in Tuesday’s 11-point loss to the Chicago Sky, leaving the Phoenix Mercury’s top scorer one step deeper into the league’s discipline ladder. The penalty is now official, and the next one matters more.
Copper and Natasha Cloud were assessed double technicals with 57 seconds left in the third quarter after a heated exchange, and Copper now faces a $1,000 fine under the standard punishment for a player’s fourth through seventh technical fouls. Alyssa Thomas also drew a technical in the game and is due a separate $1,000 fine for her fourth of the season.
That puts Copper in an awkward place for a player who is averaging more than 20 points per game and remains Phoenix’s leading scorer. Her five technicals rank second in the WNBA this season, tied with Caitlin Clark and behind only Angel Reese, while the club was sitting at 8-14 with 22 games still to play.
The league’s new CBA rules raise the stakes further: once a player reaches eight technicals, the suspension is automatic for one game. Copper is still well short of that mark, but she is close enough that every referee whistle now carries real consequences for Phoenix, which cannot afford to lose scoring touch for long.
The one detail the warning letter does not answer is what sparked the exchange that led to the double technicals. What is clear is that the next game will come quickly, with the Phoenix Mercury set to face the Indiana Fever in a rematch at 10 PM ET on Prime Video.
