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Chris Copeland ‘might bronze’ the Disney Princesses backpack he had to wear as a rookie

“I’m keeping that for life [...] But seriously, it means a lot to me. I might bronze it or something. At first I was like, 'Are you serious?' And when we’d go out people would laugh at me, yell jokes and stuff. But when I really look back at what it took to be able to put on that backpack, I’ll never get rid of it.” — Chris Copeland, to SLAM's Adam Figman, on the Disney Princesses backpack he was given by Marcus Camby upon joining the New York Knicks last season as part of the traditional hazing rites veterans visit upon first-year players ... despite the fact that Copeland, unlike most rookies, was 28 years old.

Copeland went from the University of Colorado to the D-League, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium before getting a Summer League shot with the Knicks, which he parlayed into a one-year minimum salary, which he parlayed into a strong year as a stretch-four scorer who averaged 20 points per 36 minutes and shot 42 percent from 3-point range heading into restricted free agency. He's now reportedly drawing interest from the Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, which means he'll almost definitely be able to afford that bronzing later this summer.