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Sophie Cunningham Expresses Lack of Satisfaction After Indiana Fever Move

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 4:17 PM ET

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has experienced a shift in her career since joining the franchise via trade in January.

The 28-year-old began her six-year career with the Phoenix Mercury as a second-round pick, having played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers.

Everything began to change for Cunningham when teaming up with Caitlin Clark and the Fever. She earned a lot of attention when she was ejected from a game against the Connecticut Sun earlier this season.

During that game, Suns guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye, and the two teams were playing with more fire for the rest of the contest. Since that game and her sticking up for Clark went viral, Cunningham's jersey sales skyrocketed, and she gained hundreds of thousands of new followers on social media.

Sophie Cunningham on her identity and brand “blowing up”

“I didn’t mean for it to blow up like that, I didn’t mean for it to blow up at all to be honest. But at the end of the day I’m here to focus on basketball, I’m still so not satisfied with how I’m playing… this is all… pic.twitter.com/R0GuAtwhBi
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) July 1, 2025

Despite all that attention, Cunningham isn't entirely satisfied when asked by beat reporter Andrew Dukowitz about how her brand has taken off:

“I didn’t mean for it to blow up like that. I didn’t mean for it to blow up at all, to be honest. But at the end of the day I’m here to focus on basketball. I’m still so not satisfied with how I’m playing ... I just need to dial-in, focus on my shot, focus on getting back to where I was before I got injured. So that's where my mind's at."

On May 30, Cunningham left the Fever's 85-83 loss to the Sun after reaggravating a right ankle injury that also kept her out of the season's first two games.

"This is all super cool; I think it’s fun," Cunningham continued. "I think it’s cool to show young boys and girls that it’s cool to stand up for your teammates, to stand up for your friends. But in my mind, it's like, 'I need to start scoring the ball.'”

Cunningham is averaging 5.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game this season in 11 contests. This is her lowest scoring average since 2021, a season with the Mercury where she mostly came off the bench and averaged 17.5 minutes per game.

Last Wednesday, the Fever waived DeWanna Bonner, a 16-year WNBA veteran. In nine games this season, the 37-year-old averaged only 7.1 points per game, the lowest scoring average of her career.

The Fever likely felt this was a necessary move to bring new energy to the team after Bonner requested a trade and was later benched.

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

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