‘She’s a leader’: Kahleah Copper’s back-to-back WNBA All-Star honors are a sign of her star status

CHICAGO — To get a good measurement of how far Kahleah Copper has risen in the WNBA, you might want to start with Emma Meesseman.

The veteran forward, one of the league’s best players at the position, was in Washington when Copper played her rookie season with the Mystics. Then Copper was traded to the Sky, where she’s been ever since.

At the start of this year, Meesseman joined Chicago as a free agent — a move that turned a very good reigning champion into a powerhouse. Both players earned All-Star honors this year, along with teammates Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot, from a Sky team that has the WNBA’s best record this year (16-6).

On top of that, this year’s All-Star Game is on the champs’ court Sunday afternoon at sold-out Wintrust Arena (1 p.m., 6abc).

So when you go to take that measurement, you’d better have something long.

“She was already super-good then and super-athletic, but now she’s even stronger, and she’s a leader,” Meesseman said of Copper. “I think that was, for me, the biggest change I saw. … Back then she didn’t speak a lot in the team, she was just playing her game, but now she’s actually pulling the team, she’s talking in the huddles, she’s actually a leader.”

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It’s not just the Sky who’ve been impressed. Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas knew about Copper when growing up in the Harrisburg area and has watched the North Philly native’s rise all along.

“I knew she was going to be a great player, and I followed her career over the years, and I’m just so happy and proud of where she is,” Thomas said. “There was no doubt that she was ever going to be an All-Star.”

Copper, Meesseman, and Thomas will be reserve teammates on Breanna Stewart’s squad.

If you’re surprised Copper — last year’s WNBA Finals MVP and now a back-to-back All-Star — didn’t earn a starting nod from the voters, that’s a reminder of how much star power will be all over the court. Stewart’s fellow starters include Sue Bird and Nneka Ogwumike; opposing captain A’ja Wilson’s team includes Parker, Sabrina Ionescu, and Sylvia Fowles.

It will be an especially memorable day for Bird and Fowles, as it’s their final All-Star Game before retiring after this year.

And of course, the biggest spotlight will be on Brittney Griner, as the WNBA continues to campaign to get her home from detention in Russia as soon as possible.

But there’s no doubt about who’s atop the invitation. The Sky and their quartet of players — with three more in Saturday’s skills competition — are headline news in town, on the front pages of the local papers through the weekend.

“I’m definitely a party host,” Copper said, including for many friends and family coming to town from Philadelphia. “Chicago was already showing us so much love, but winning a championship does put a cherry on top. I think that just being around the city, and everybody knowing that we won a championship and showing us just a lot more love, is amazing.”

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As with any All-Star event, there’s a lot for the players to take part in, and not just on courts. There were sponsors’ parties, community-service outings, and an “Orange Carpet” event Friday night where players showed off their fashionable sides.

Copper wore an outfit full of basketball-colored adidas logos, and wrote on Instagram afterward: “My biggest flex is I really don’t flex, but could.”

“I just think it’s about enjoying the moment,” she said. “Not too many times where you’ll be a back-to-back All-Star and you’ll have these experiences. So I think it’s important for me to take this weekend and just enjoy it.”

But don’t mistake that for dialing down the competitive juices on Sunday. Copper said she’s been trash-talking with Parker and Vandersloot all week.

“It’s even more fun to compete against them, and even more fun to talk more trash,” Copper said. “I already know we’re going to win, so I can’t wait until the end where I can talk as much trash for the rest of the season.”

The first five players listed on each team are the starters.

Team Wilson: Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Candace Parker (Chicago Sky), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx); Ariel Atkins (Washington Mystics), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky), Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces), Natasha Howard (New York Liberty), Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sky); coach Becky Hammon (Las Vegas Aces).

Team Stewart: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces), Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm), Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks); Kahleah Copper (Chicago Sky), Skylar Diggins-Smith (Phoenix Mercury), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings), Emma Meesseman (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun); coach James Wade (Chicago Sky).