Sophie Cunningham is officially in Indianapolis! The former Mercury star was welcomed to Gainsbridge Fieldhouse on March 11 — and was very clear about why she wanted to join the team.
While speaking to reporters about joining the Fever, Cunningham was blunt. "To be honest, my original thought was like, oh heck yeah. Like we're about to go win a championship," she said of being approached by the team's front office. "That's exactly where my mind went."
Cunningham isn't the only person expecting a lot from the Fever this season. The team's front office made major free agency moves this year that also included signing DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Brianna Turner, Jaelyn Brown, and Sydney Colson. The newest members of the team will join Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull as they attempt to take it all.
Sophie Cunningham explained why the Fever just "fit"
Cunningham also told reporters that the Fever is the right fit for her at this moment in her career. "I'm stoked. I'm so so excited. I think it's refreshing," she said (per Clark Wade of the Indy Star). The team plays a different style of basketball than what she's used to, Cunningham continued, and "this is the style that I thrive in."
"When you have people who can shoot the ball, who move the ball, who are run and gunners and share the ball; this is the type of offense that I want to be in. I'm just stoked," Cunningham added.
Sophie Cunningham is enthusiastic about Caitlin Clark
Cunningham has previously made it clear she's a big fan and supporter of her new teammate Caitlin Clark. In fact, she expressed interest in playing with Clark well before there was ever a whisper of the Fever signing the 6'1" shooting guard.
Cunningham was asked about Clark's impact on women's basketball during an October 2024 interview on the Travis Hearn Podcast and was quick to offer a positive take. Cunningham praised Clark's ability to handle the enormous pressure that followed her from college at Iowa into the WNBA, and noted that she "has done a lot of great things for women's basketball and I'm a fan."
She also praised Clark in a separate interview months earlier. In July 2024 Cunningham told SLAM Magazine that the "narrative that we're all against Caitlin," or that veteran players weren't supportive of one of the league's newest rookies, "needs to be squashed because it's not like that."
Cunningham was all smiles in photos shared by the Indiana Fever Instagram account today, and looked ready to go hit the court in her new jersey.