Sophie Cunningham
American basketball player and analyst (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sophie Elizabeth Cunningham (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers.
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Cunningham with the Phoenix Mercury in 2023 | |
| No. 8 – Indiana Fever | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 16, 1996 Columbia, Missouri, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Rock Bridge (Columbia, Missouri) |
| College | Missouri (2015–2019) |
| WNBA draft | 2019: 2nd round, 13th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Phoenix Mercury |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2024 | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2019–2020 | Melbourne Boomers |
| 2025–present | Indiana Fever |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Biography
Cunningham was born August 16, 1996, to Jim and Paula Cunningham.[1] Her parents were both student athletes at the University of Missouri, along with other members of her family.[1]
Cunningham attended Rock Bridge High School, starring on the girls' basketball and volleyball teams. When the kicker on the football team had his season ended with an ACL tear, Cunningham joined the football team as the kicker as well, going two for four on FG attempts.[2][3][4]
She is a Christian and attributes her confidence and success on the basketball court to God.[5]
College career
Cunningham played four seasons of college basketball at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri for the Tigers.[6] In 129 career starts, Cunningham averaged 17.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 3.0 apg for the Tigers.
Professional career
Phoenix Mercury (2019–2025)
Cunningham was selected as the thirteenth (13th) overall pick, the first pick in the second round, of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury.[7][8] Cunningham was the eighth University of Missouri alumna to be drafted into the WNBA and was the highest selection for a former Tiger.
Indiana Fever (2025–present)
On January 31, 2025, Cunningham was traded to the Indiana Fever in a four-team trade that also included the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun.[9][10][11] Cunningham has earned recognition as the Fever's enforcer after she was ejected from a game against the Connecticut Sun for grabbing Jacy Sheldon and pulling her to the ground in retribution for Sheldon poking teammate Caitlin Clark in the eye earlier in the game.[2][3][12] The incident went viral.[13][14]
In the second quarter of the Fever's match-up at Connecticut on August 17, Cunningham left the game with a right knee injury after Connecticut Sun guard, Bria Hartley, stumbled into the paint and fell into Cunningham's leg.[15] On August 19, the Fever stated that Cunningham would be out for the remainder of the Fever's season due to her right knee injury.[16] Cunningham confirmed reports of her tearing her right MCL, on her August 19 episode of her podcast, "Show Me Something."[17][18]
On April 12, 2026, it was announced that Cunningham had re-signed with the Fever.[19]
Analyst career
In December 2022, Cunningham became a recurring analyst for the Phoenix Suns on their Suns Live! pregame, halftime, and post-game TV coverage.[20][21]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
Regular season
- Stats current through end of 2025 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 32 | 5 | 12.2 | .354 | .304 | .882 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 21 | 11 | 18.9 | .385 | .235 | .880 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 30 | 4 | 17.5 | .437 | .410 | .704 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 5.6 |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 28 | 20 | 29.5 | .449 | .400 | .875 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 12.6 |
| 2023 | Phoenix | 31 | 31 | 29.0 | .413 | .337 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 11.3 |
| 2024 | Phoenix | 40 | 21 | 27.8 | .429 | .378 | .870 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
| 2025 | Indiana | 30 | 13 | 25.2 | .469 | .432 | .875 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 8.6 |
| Career | 7 years, 2 teams | 212 | 105 | 23.1 | .428 | .372 | .861 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 7.9 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 1.000 | 1.000° | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 9.5 | .500 | .333 | — | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 8 | 2 | 17.5 | .484 | .565 | 1.000 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 6.4 | |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 31.0 | .455 | .375 | .333 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 7.5 | |
| 2024 | Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 31.5 | .500 | .429 | — | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6.5 | |
| 2025 | Indiana | Did not play (injury) | ||||||||||||
| Career | 5 years, 1 team | 15 | 6 | 19.5 | .491 | .500 | .625 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 5.8 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Missouri | 32 | 32 | 30.1 | .502 | .356 | .831 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 14.0 |
| 2016–17 | Missouri | 31 | 31 | 32.9 | .482 | .379 | .848 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 17.5 |
| 2017–18 | Missouri | 31 | 31 | 32.7 | .542 | .457 | .836 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 18.5 |
| 2018–19 | Missouri | 35 | 35 | 34.3 | .481 | .403 | .839 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 17.8 |
| Career | 129 | 129 | 37.5 | .501 | .403 | .839 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 17.0 | |
