Sky star Kahleah Copper was coming off a screen set by Candace Parker, as she has hundreds of times before, when she fell to the floor Friday.
It was a non-contact injury, but Copper had to be helped off the court by members of the Sky’s staff on either side of her. She put no weight on her right leg as she hopped back to the trainer’s room.
Sky general manager/coach James Wade followed Copper into the trainer's room before appearing back on the floor moments later smiling.
“Nothing is wrong,” Wade said when asked if Copper was OK. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re fine.”
Asked if he expected Copper to play in Game 2 on Saturday, Wade repeated, “Nothing happened.”
But something did happen. The Sky’s leading scorer was left clutching her right ankle area.
Copper's teammates finished practice at the free-throw line. When she emerged from the trainer’s room, Copper was walking without help, but with a limp.
Asked if she was OK, Copper responded with one word.
“Yes,” she said before limping back to the Sky’s locker room.
Copper is the energy source for the Sky’s back-to-back title efforts. She led the team in scoring during the regular season, averaging 15.7 points per game. Following their Game 1 loss to the No. 7 New York Liberty on Wednesday, Wade’s team’s backs are against the wall. If Copper is unavailable for tomorrow’s game, their uphill battle becomes steeper.
