With Joey Chestnut winning the Fourth of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for an unrivaled 18th time, WNBA players wanted to get into some of the action as well, with Phoenix Mercury's Kahleah Copper issuing a public challenge to Paige Bueckers.

On July 4th, Copper posted an Instagram story while watching Chestnut do his thing, and in the caption, decided to challenge Bueckers to an eating contest of their own.

"I challenge @paigebueckers to a @originalnathansfranks glizzy eating contest." Copper wrote, adding a hot dog emoji, as Bueckers reposted the story and, funnily enough, accepted the challenge. "Gimme the time and place" Bueckers wrote.

While this is just friendly banter between two professionals of the game, Bueckers and Copper are currently neck-and-neck in the WNBA's top-scoring leaders for this season.

Paige Bueckers has levelled up tenfold following her breakout rookie year with the Dallas Wings last year. She is currently averaging 20.2 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game.

She recently surpassed 1,000 career points and was selected as a starter for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game after leading the league in fan voting.

Meanwhile, Copper has been the main driving force for a rather inconsistent Phoenix Mercury that reached the WNBA Finals last year. She has been averaging 20.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

However, with a record of 8-13, the Mercury are now in playoff contention thanks to Copper's efforts, who notably set a career-high of 41 points against the Los Angeles Sparks.

But Bueckers edges Copper through one specific accolade that the Mercury star has not been able to achieve since 2024.

Paige Bueckers Named a Starter in the WNBA All-Star Game

Bueckers earned her second straight All-Star starter honor last Thursday. Not only is she a starter, she was also the leading vote-getter, receiving a league-leading 1,045,051 votes from fans.

She is joined by Jessica Shepard as the two players from the Wings to receive this honor.

Notably, not a single player from the Phoenix Mercury was chosen, as a few fans believe that Copper, who was an All-Star from 2021 to 2024, was snubbed this season.

The other All-Star starters were Indiana’s Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, Minnesota’s Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles, and Las Vegas forward A’ja Wilson.

Twelve reserves will be announced on July 7, so it is still possible that Copper gets included as well.

So, do you think Kahleah Copper was wrongfully snubbed from the All-Star starting lineup this year? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Joy Bassy