Sophie Cunningham turns heads in gameday fit for Fever WNBA opener
· Yahoo Sports
The Indiana Fever will begin their 2026 WNBA season on Saturday afternoon and Sophie Cunningham will be arriving to the arena in style.
A former second-round pick, Cunningham is entering her eighth season in the league.
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She spent her first six with the Phoenix Mercury and is now in her second with the Fever after re-signing with the team during the offseason.
Here’s what Cunningham will be rocking to the arena on Saturday afternoon, when the Fever take on the Dallas Wings in Indiana.
Sophie Cunningham’s offseason
Aug 17, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) warms up before the start of the game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn ImagesCunningham signed a one-year, $665,000 contract to stay in Indiana for another season.
This is the first year of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and league and that has led to a bump in pay for WNBA players.
Despite that, Cunningham wasn’t totally thrilled with her deal because she wanted more than one year. She is happy with the money, though.
“I’m gonna shut this down right now. I’m not mad about the money…. I just wanted more years because I love it here,” Cunningham wrote on X.
“I wanted to get a house so I could bring my dog and donkey to Indy with me. That’s it. That’s the truth. I think we have something very special here in Indiana,” she added.
Sophie Cunningham’s rise to fame
Nov 12, 2025; Belleair, Florida, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) and guard Lexie Hull (10) look on as guard Caitlin Clark (22) plays in the Annika Pro-Am golf tournament at Pelican Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesBefore Caitlin Clark entered the picture in Indiana, your casual basketball fan wasn’t really aware of Cunningham.
But that all changed overnight when Cunningham defended Clark in a big way during a game last season.
That was the infamous contest against the Connecticut Sun, when Clark got poked in the eye and then intentionally bumped to the ground by a Sun player.
Cunningham stepped up for her teammate, though, and committed a hard foul on one of the offenders who fouled Clark.
She attracted a ton of fans for herself who wanted to see someone defend Clark and Cunningham’s social media numbers blew up almost instantly.
Cunningham has also been outspoken about how the league has failed to protect Clark, and she has been frustrated with the clear resentment players feel toward the star guard because of her immense popularity.