With his father absent from his life from birth, Copeland always looked up to his older brother, Vincent Alphaquan, a basketball standout at Seton Hall Prep and Columbus High School in New York before he played at Jackson State.

At age 4, he established a practice routine with Vincent as his coach, honing his game with various dribbling drills in a narrow alleyway next to their house.

This all changed in May 1997 when Vincent slipped into a coma after a drunk driver struck him in a hit-and-run accident on Central Avenue in East Orange, just a few blocks away from the Copelands' house.

She quit her job as a senior administrator for Unity Hospice in Newark, and by October 1999, her son was enrolled at Hermitage.

[2] As a senior in 2001–02, he averaged 15 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks per game for the Panthers as he earned Most Valuable Player honors, as well as Virginia High School Colonial District Co-Player of the Year, Virginia All-State honorable mention, all-region, all-district and all-metro first-team selection.

[3] In his freshman season at Colorado, Copeland proved to be a valuable contributor off the bench as he often provided CU with clutch points despite limited minutes.

[3][4] In his junior season, Copeland earned Big 12 All-Improved team honors after more than tripling his points per game average.

[10] On November 2, 2012, he made his NBA debut in the Knicks' season opener against the Miami Heat, recording no points in just under two minutes of action.

[13] On April 17, 2013, Copeland recorded a career-high 33 points in the Knicks' final regular season game against the Atlanta Hawks.

[19][20] After a promising rookie season with the Knicks, Copeland's production dropped off dramatically with the Pacers in 2013–14 as he averaged just 3.7 points and 6.5 minutes in 41 games, playing behind Paul George, Danny Granger and Evan Turner.

[23] He made his debut for the Bucks in the team's season opener against the New York Knicks on October 28, recording 8 points and 2 rebounds in a 122–97 loss.

[25] Two days later, the Orlando Magic put in a waiver claim on Copeland in order to waive him, so as to go above the season's minimum team salary of $63 million.

He joined the club with an agreement until February 2018, in order to replace injured Georgian forward Beka Burjanadze.