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Fever Star Sophie Cunningham Questions WNBA for Expansion Franchise Locations

Indiana Fever standout Sophie Cunningham was critical of where the WNBA decided to place expansion franchises.
Grant Young|
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) looks on during the second half against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) looks on during the second half against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

On June 30, news broke that the WNBA would be adding expansion franchises in three American cities — Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia — over the next five years. The Cleveland franchise is expected to begin WNBA play in 2028, the Detroit franchise is supposed to enter the league in 2029, and the Philadelphia franchise will do the same one season later, in 2030.

Given the recent boom in popularity the WNBA has experienced in recent years, many cities were competing for an expansion team. And there has been some backlash about these three cities earning squads, if only because some believe other areas of the US (like Florida or Denver, Colorado) should have been awarded a franchise instead of more cities in the Midwest or on the East Coast.

This is a similar sentiment to what Indiana Fever standout Sophie Cunningham said when speaking with the media on July 1.

"I also think that you want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play? Where are they gonna get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great [location]," Cunningham said, per an X post from Yahoo Sports.

"Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity. There's a huge arena downtown that no one's using... I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast. I think that that's also another thing," she added.

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]," Cunningham concluded.

Many people will surely agree with Cunningham's stance, while others (including the WNBA) might get upset by her sentiment.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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