Aug 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) reacts against the Phoenix Mercury during an WNBA game at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Sophie Cunningham Sends Clear Message About WNBA's Best Player

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 2:23 PM ET

The 2025 WNBA MVP award race is going to be fascinating to watch develop over the final few weeks of the regular season. At this point, the race has been narrowed down to three players: Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, Las Vegas Aces standout (and reigning MVP) A'ja Wilson, and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie made her pick for the MVP award during an August 25 segment on CBS Sports' We Need to Talk show, where she said, "Initially, I had Napheesa Collier running away with [the MVP award]... Then all of a sudden, you have A'ja Wilson, who just makes an amazing run.

"The three of them at the top, I think, it's really tough. I think Collier may get it... She started where she left off. But A'ja Wilson is, I mean, wow. It's tough. I don't get to vote, y'all," she added.

Sophie Cunningham Picks Her Current Best WNBA Player

Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham will be missing the rest of the 2025 WNBA season because of a torn MCL she sustained in her right knee during an August 17 game, which required her to get surgery. Since the injury, the Fever have played Collier's Lynx squad twice (and Minnesota won both contests).

Collier only played in the second game because she was nursing an ankle injury, but that didn't stop her from scoring 32 points on 11 of 16 field goals to go along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Perhaps it was this performance against her team that ultimately convinced Cunningham that Collier is the league's best player, which she asserted during an August 26 episode of her Show Me Something podcast.

After talking about how great Minnesota as a team is and noting that she and Collier are from the same area of Missouri, Cunningham added, "Napheesa is good. Like, she's probably the best player in our league. She's a h*** of a player. [She] has everything in her bag."

While some might expect Cunningham to convey that she believes her teammate Caitlin Clark is the league's best player, props to her for admitting that Collier probably takes the cake at this point, if only because Clark has been injured for most of this 2025 WNBA season.

The Fever and Lynx play each other one more time in this regular season. However, given that the Lynx are already about to lock the WNBA's top seed up for the playoffs, perhaps they'll elect to rest Collier and their other players during that September 9 showdown.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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