Why the Indiana Fever Can’t Afford to Leave Sophie Cunningham Unprotected
The Indiana Fever will be faced with a tough decision when the WNBA finally ratifies a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Among the first orders of business after the CBA is ratified will be setting the date for the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire's WNBA Expansion Draft. The sentiment is that because there are two teams involved in this year's draft, the 13 current WNBA teams will only be able to protect five players on their current roster (as opposed to protecting six players when the Golden State Valkyries had their Expansion Draft in December of 2024).
The Fever will obviously be protecting Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull. Natasha Howard is ineligible for the expansion draft because of core designations, which means that if five players are indeed protected, the Fever would likely need to choose between Sophie Cunningham or Makayla Timpson as their fifth and final protected player.
Multiple outlets have already predicted the Fever will choose Timpson. But that feels like an egregious error, given everything that Cunningham brings to Indiana, both on and off the court.
Fever would be foolish not to protect Sophie Cunningham
Cunningham provides timely three-point shooting and solid defense. However, her appeal on the court largely comes from her gritty play style, where she backs down to nobody and doesn't take any disrespect for her or her Fever teammates.
This was made most apparent when Cunningham threw Jacy Sheldon to the ground one quarter after Sheldon incited a shoving match with Caitlin Clark when the Fever and the Connecticut Sun played back in June.
Things were HEATED between the Sun and Fever tonight 😳
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2025
-Caitlin Clark T'd up
-Marina Mabrey T'd up
-Jacy Sheldon assessed flagrant
-Sophie Cunningham ejected pic.twitter.com/CUnso6z4a9
Not only did this prove that Cunningham would be willing to act as Clark's protection, but it also heightened her own star power to impressive degrees. And that's another reason why the Fever should keep Cunningham: She's a huge star that brings money to the franchise.
But perhaps most important of all is the impact Cunningham has on the Fever's culture. Even from the outside looking in, it was apparent that she brought an injection of energy and enthusiasm to the team every day, regardless of whether she was on the court or on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury.
It's worth noting that Cunningham is a free agent and Timpson is under contract. So even if the Fever do protect her, she could still conceivably leave in free agency shortly after, while Timpson would be staying put. This is a fair argument to keep Timpson (on her rookie contract) instead, but Cunningham has made it clear that she's willing to return to Indiana if they give her a fair offer in free agency, so this shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Why the #IndianaFever have to protect Sophie Cunningham in the #WNBA Expansion Draft pic.twitter.com/s7BsSl7NX1
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) January 3, 2026
On the flip side, the Fever could bet the expansion teams aren't willing to make the commitment necessary to ensure Cunningham is on their roster. However, it wouldn't be wise to leave that to chance since either Toronto or Portland could choose to make a marketing splash with Cunningham.
Cunningham makes an impact both on the court and when it comes to locker room chemistry. So, as talented and promising as Timpson is, this is why it should be a no-brainer for Indiana to keep Cunningham protected.
Recommended Reading:
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever 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.
Follow GrvntYoung