Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham is coming off a great WNBA season that was cut short by an injury. She averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game this year. The seven-year veteran shot career highs of 46.9% from the field and 43.2% from three.
Unfortunately, during their game against the Connecticut Sun, Cunningham injured her right knee. Connecticut guard Bria Hartley stumbled into the paint and landed on Cunningham’s leg, causing her to tear her MCL.
During the offseason, Cunningham focused on recovering and rehabilitating her injured knee. She shared that she lost a lot of weight, now weighing at 148.5lbs, compared to her listed weight of 165lbs. However, Cunningham said that she is looking to gain at least five more pounds before the WNBA season starts.
Sophie Cunningham reveals one truth about the WNBA
Cunningham is known for her role as the Fever’s “enforcer.” She takes care of her teammates when opponents are being too physical. However, people might think that she might lose a step because of her injury and weight loss. It is unlikely that Cunningham will be less of an “enforcer” on the court as she thrives in that role.
People believe that playing in the WNBA, or women’s basketball in general, is less physical than men’s. In an episode of Cunningham’s podcast, “Show Me Something”, they talked about the physicality of women’s basketball.
Their guest, TV personality Carl Radke, shared that he played against former Syracuse forward Keri Laimbeer. He said he would go toe-to-toe with Laimbeer in the paint, and she would beat him.
“Does it take you a second to learn how to like play against the girls?” Cunningham asked.
“I was excited about the opportunity because I know how fundamental and [skillful they are],” Radke answered. “But what I didn’t clock was the toughness and like the physicality of the women.”
“I just assumed it would be a little less physical. It was actually more physical than I ever realized.”
Cunningham listened to this answer with a smile, considering how she is one of the most physical WNBA players today.
“Everyone says that,” she said. “I feel like I have to be more physical so when our practice players come in. They’re like ‘[expletive] we got the [expletive] beat out of us today.'”
She went on to describe how physical it gets during WNBA practices, which translates to games.
.@carlradke is here to tell you: playing basketball with the women is a LOT more physical than you think 🤣 pic.twitter.com/haGJtj02Hc
— Show Me Something (@ShowMe_Pod) February 25, 2026
This goes to show that no one should underestimate women’s basketball. As for Cunningham, her presence on the court was sorely missed last season. She will definitely add a lot as the Fever aim to win the WNBA title in 2026.
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