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Fever's Sophie Cunningham Handling 'Dramatically' Rising Fame

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 1:17 PM ET

Back in February, when she was part of a monster 10-team WNBA trade that shook up the entire league, Sophie Cunningham was something of a footnote. The Fever were getting more shooting and defense in the trade, no doubt, but in six seasons with the Mercury, Cunningham had been a nice role player but little more.

Since then, though, she has attracted significantly more attention playing with Indiana, though, especially going back to a June 17 game in which Cunningham dished out a hard foul on Jacy Sheldon toward the end of the Fever's win over Connecticut. Sheldon, a longtime nemesis of Caitlin Clark, had delivered some cheap-shot fouls to Clark during the game.

Quite suddenly, Cunningham was granted the title of "enforcer" for Clark, and for many of Clark's legions of fans, she became an instant favorite.

Sophie Cunningham a 'Firecracker'

Cunningham is having a solid season with the Fever, averaging just 8.4 points but making 43.6% of her 3-point attempts while playing excellent defense. Her popularity has fast outstripped her numbers, though.

Indiana Fever broadcaster Pat Boylan, a veteran play-by-play man, said in an interview with Awful Announcing that Cunningham has become something of a phenom herself.

Indiana Fever voice Pat Boylan talks Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and their ‘fascinating’ season https://t.co/ub5WOdVa9E
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 8, 2025

“She’s a firecracker. She’s infectious off the floor, on the floor as well. I think the Fever needed somebody exactly like Sophie Cunningham, who is not afraid to go out there and be the bad girl," Boylan said.

"She’s not afraid to go out there and have Caitlin Clark’s back when necessary. She’ll step up, knock down threes, play fierce defense, but is also somebody who will have the back of many of her teammates. Her fame has risen fairly dramatically here with this larger spotlight with the Fever. I think she’s done a great job with it. She hasn’t tried to make anything all about her.”

Fame Has Followed

Cunningham made news at the end of July when she was signed to a podcast deal and is now co-hosting the, "Show Me Something," show. She is adjusting to her newfound fame, but she does dispute the reputation as an "enforcer," as well as the idea that she defended Clark to gain fame.

“I kind of laughed at it because I don’t really see myself as an enforcer,” Cunningham told The Arizona Republic. “I’m just someone who is always going to stand up for myself, for my teammates, and I’m always going to be a team-first person.

“When I did that, I read things from people who were like, ‘Oh, she did that because she knew she was going to get (more followers and endorsements).’ No. I had no idea this was going to blow up. I really didn’t. It was just the flow of the game, my thoughts got the best of me, and at the end of the day, it just shows that it’s OK to stick up for your teammates and you should be proud to do that.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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