Kahleah Copper Made Classy Move to Make It to Candace Parker's Sky Jersey Retirement

Current Mercury star Kahleah Copper flew across the country to make it to former Sky teammate Candace Parker's jersey retirement ceremony in Chicago.

Copper got the microphone and made a heartwarming speech for the WNBA legend with whom she won a championship in 2021—the Sky's only title in franchise history. She had to jump through hoops to make it in for the special occasion, since the Mercury remain on the West Coast and have a game against the Sparks in Los Angeles Tuesday night.

"I wouldn't miss this day for anything, Candace," Copper said as she donned a Sky No. 3 Parker jersey. "Legend, champ, game-changer, icon. Leader, GOAT. That's how I describe you. ... Today we celebrate you. You gave this game everything. Your time, your body, your heart. You didn't just play the game—you set records, you broke barriers and you left your mark in ways stats can't fully compare."

You can watch Copper's full speech below:

“Basically if you see me with my knee pads OVER my knees it’s thanks to her.” 😂

Kahleah Copper gives a heartfelt speech honoring her former teammate Candace Parker 💙 pic.twitter.com/Nhd9WSl4Kv
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 26, 2025

When she dropped the microphone, she basically ran straight out of the arena to make a flight to get back to the West Coast and meet up with the Mercury, according to Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports. You can see Copper run off the floor in a hurry at the end of the clip below:

“Anybody hungry for some KFC?”

Kahleah Copper gives the first speech of the night pic.twitter.com/7P4uonW7RZ
— Karli Bell (@KarliBell33) August 26, 2025

Parker joined her hometown team when she decided to head to Chicago and sign with the Sky as a free agent after spending her first 13 WNBA seasons with the Sparks. She played with the Sky for two seasons, including their title year in '21, before she joined the Aces for her final season.

The Sky planned the jersey retirement when the Aces were in town, allowing even more former teammates to be in the building (albeit much more easily). Former Aces teammate Chelsea Gray wore Parker's high school jersey into the arena and came out onto the court during half time to take in the festivities.

Parker's No. 3 is the second jersey number retired in franchise history, joining Allie Quigley's No. 14 which went up into the rafters earlier this season. Now, she has some company.