Mercury fan-favorite Sophie Cunningham revealed she played through shoulder injury, excited for team’s future

While the rest of the roster was decimated by injuries, Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham was as reliable as ever by toughing out a shoulder injury and playing every game this season, proving how vital she has been since becoming a WNBA player.

Cunningham’s collarbone injury couldn’t stop her work ethic

During the Mercury’s exit interviews on Friday, Cunningham revealed that she has had a “dead” collarbone and was dealing with that throughout the year. This resulted in her shooting with her left hand more than her dominant right this season, but she battled through it so she could help the team through times of adversity.

She will be having surgery on it this offseason, deservingly so.

Cunningham has been one of the franchise staples for the Mercury since she was drafted in 2019 and the fans have embraced her tremendously because of her will to give 100% effort whenever she plays.

With Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner being only the other two returners besides Cunningham from last season to this year in Phoenix, Cunningham knew that her role could change at any given moment with practically a whole new-looking roster, so she focused on different facets of her game that she wanted to work on.

“We brought in a lot of great people this year. Four Olympians on our team, people who have won championships, All-Star players. I knew my scoring was probably going to go down, but that means there are so many more opportunities for me to be better at rebounding, steals, defense, assists,” Cunningham said. “For me, it was focusing on what the team needs.

“I think overall once we get to know each other more, especially this offseason, we are just going to bond better. Our rhythm and our chemistry are going to be good next year, especially with some of the pieces we might be bringing in and whatnot. For me, it’s just about getting better. Clearly we lacked size when BG [Griner] wasn’t in the game, so there were a lot of boards that were like a free-for-all. At the end of the day, defense and rebounding is hard work and I am going to bring that to the table every night.”

While the starting lineup of Taurasi, Griner, Kahleah Copper, Rebecca Allen and Natasha Cloud were only on the court for a small chunk of the season, Cunningham stepped up from the bench and started 21 of 40 games, mostly at forward. Playing almost every position possible, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Culture change establishing confidence, growth

Enjoying whatever role she is put into, Cunningham has mentioned multiple times it doesn’t matter if she is a sub or a starter, she just wants to contribute to the team however she can.

One of the people who has been proud of how she has taken every opportunity and run with it is the first-year head coach of the Mercury, Nate Tibbetts. Both Cunningham and Tibbetts have been seen multiple times laughing as well as him teaching her new ideas and techniques, building a strong player and coach bond.

When talking about how he has stepped into a league he had not ever coached in before, Cunningham has appreciated what Tibbetts has done so far and believes he will only get better with time.

“Phenomenal, I think a lot of people had a lot to say when we first hired him, but I think people got to know Nate, his heart, what he is going to bring to the table. It was his first year, he had a lot to learn about the league but he is such a great guy,” Cunningham said on Tibbetts. “He is a great husband, great father and has a bunch more daughters now that he has us. He is just a really good person.

“When you have someone who you can trust off the court, it naturally gives you better chemistry when you are on the court. Next year, I think he is going to be better, our coaching staff is going to be better because they’ll know the league more, they’ll know us as players more. I just think it is up from here.”

From the time she entered the league six years ago to now in the offseason, Cunningham has been through the highest of highs with being in the WNBA Finals in 2021 but encountering the lowest of lows like in 2023 when Phoenix missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

The Mercury were 9-31 last season, dismissed former head coach Vanessa Nygaard before Vicky Blue took over and was not brought back. Tibbetts was then hired and Phoenix made it back to the playoffs with a 19-21 record this year. The team was swept by the Minnesota Lynx 2-0 in the first round on Wednesday.

Seeing how the organization has changed from 2019 to now, Cunningham is confident in the direction that it is heading toward and sees the trajectory glowing brighter and brighter.

“It was a huge step in the right direction. We have a whole new front office, new coaching staff, pretty much a whole new team. You saw sparks of when we were really good, there were also times where we didn’t look so good at all. Now it’s just all about being consistent. I definitely think that this year, especially as a culture, as a locker room and as an organization as a whole, the feel of it is just way, way better.”