WNBA star’s wig falls off during a game, causing chaos on court

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Whistles are blown during professional basketball games for all types of reasons.

Fouls, out of bounds, timeouts and … lost wigs?

In perhaps the rarest sight in the history of basketball, a game between the Washington Mystics and Phoenix Mercury was halted after a player lost her wig during a play.

During the third quarter of Sunday’s game in Washington, Phoenix all-star Kahleah Copper was attempting to get open on an inbound play by running around a screen set by a teammate. But just as she got loose from her defender, her wig came off and hit the floor – much to the bewilderment of players, referees, fans and commentators alike.

Cooper quickly noticed that she had lost the head accessory, scooping it up off the hardwood and retreating to the locker room as a timeout was called.

Even on-air commentator Meghan McPeak was at a loss for words on air.

“Oh no,” McPeak said, “Oh no. Oh no, she’s going to head to the back. Oh no.”

That wasn’t the end of the rather odd situation, however. Copper’s Mercury teammates noticed that fan was mocking their colleague and brought it to the attention of officials. The refs then notified arena security about the situation while pointing out the fan in question.

“They made fun of her for the situation on the floor,” the refs and officials can be heard saying to each other in the clip posted on social media, which has racked up more than two million views since being posted on Monday afternoon.

The wardrobe malfunction unfortunately was Copper’s most noteworthy contribution to the game. In Phoenix’s 88-72 victory, she scored just six points while collecting three rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes.

The Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas led the way with an outstanding stat line of 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the win, which improved Phoenix’s record to 16-9.

Phoenix will take on Indiana Fever on Wednesday night, however superstar Caitlin Clark remains sidelined with a groin injury.