The 2021 WNBA Finals MVP has joined Chicago Sky teammate Candace Parker as a member of the Gatorade family.
Kahleah Copper won’t hesitate to bring up the relationship she has with teammate Candace Parker. Parker, at 36 years old, has been a mentor and close friend to the two-time WNBA All-Star over the past two seasons since the two became teammates with the Chicago Sky.
Now, as Copper and Parker go for another championship, the pair are teammates on yet another roster. Copper has officially joined “Ace” as part of the Gatorade family, the brand announced on Tuesday.
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The announcement comes after a WNBA regular season in which Copper posted career bests in points (15.7), rebounds (5.7), and assists per game (2.3). She was also MVP of last year’s WNBA Finals, which saw the Sky mount a Cinderella run to a championship as the No. 6 seed.
“I have these moments where I’m thinking about myself when I was a young girl playing basketball and seeing Gatorade commercials and drinking Gatorade,” Copper told Boardroom. “For me to actually join the Gatorade roster is just amazing. I’m just glad I can be a part of something so special.”
It speaks to the level that her star has risen over the past year. Look up and down the Gatorade roster and you’ll see names like Fernando Tatis Jr., Trevor Lawrence, Paige Bueckers, and (of course) Parker. Two years ago, few would have thought she belonged on that same list.
For Copper, it’s about more than an endorsement deal with a company she’s long admired. And, yes, it means more than free access to Propel Water and her favorite Gatorade flavor, Glacier Freeze. She admires how much the brand has done for women in sports.
Now that she’s been in the WNBA for seven seasons, Copper can start thinking about how she wants to impact the next generation of woman athletes, much like Parker did for her. Being visible — showing up and repping a brand like Gatorade — will send a powerful message to young girls hoping to succeed in athletics.
“Gatorade is committed to elevating female athletes, which is important to me,” Copper said. “I have my basketball camp in Philly and I think that it’s important that we’re able to inspire the next generation. Just to see the looks on the girls’ faces and to be able to be there for them and just to show up, it means a lot. I think Gatorade is definitely committed to the next generation and creating those equal opportunities.”
While Copper is excited to get to work with Gatorade, she has a bigger task ahead. The Sky will host the New York Liberty on Wednesday, Aug. 17 in Game 1 of the WNBA postseason’s opening round. Chicago went 3-1 against New York this season, but the Liberty finished the regular season with six wins in their final eight games to head into the postseason red-hot.
“We know how hard it is to win, let alone how hard it would be to win back-to-back,” she said. ” I think that we’re going in with a really high sense of urgency because we know what it’s going to take.”
Maybe for Copper, some Glacier Freeze might be the difference?
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