Sophie Cunningham Is In News For Comments—Here's What She's Done on Court for Fever

While Sophie Cunningham is making headlines for her comments, what she has done on the court for the Indiana Fever also deserves shine.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Indiana Fever star guard Sophie Cunningham has been one of the biggest news stories in the world over the past several days because of comments she made regarding her stance on transgender athletes in women's sports.

"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that.' I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men," Cunningham said, which was included in an article from ESPN's Hallie Grossman that was published on Tuesday.

These comments have gone viral and become a mainstream news story in the way that only Cunningham can seem to do in the WNBA these days. And this has become even more the case since Cunningham has doubled and tripled down on her comments, including with an Instagram post on Thursday that was captioned, "I said what I said🫡".

Yet, as much noise as Cunningham makes off the court, she has also been putting together a fantastic season on the court relative to her role on the Fever, which also deserves shine.

A Closer Look at Sophie Cunningham's Fantastic Fever Season

Cunningham has been one of the league's best three-point shooters this season. Her 42.9% three-point percentage is fifth-best in the WNBA among active, qualified players, according to ESPN, and the best among guards.

Her 9.3 points per game are the highest in her career since the 2023 season, and her 14.6 points per 36 minutes played are the second-highest of her career. Plus, her 47.4% field goal percentage is a career high, and her 0.9 turnovers per game are her lowest since the 2021 season.

In other words, she's playing more efficiently and productively than at any other time in her career while filling an invaluable role for Indiana. Not to mention that she often matches up against the opposing team's top guard, and therefore must use a lot of energy on that end of the floor.

All of this is to say that Cunningham is having a career year on the court, all while being a lightning rod off the court. Not only does she deserve credit for being able to separate the two, but she'll need to keep performing to her potential if the Fever are to meet their goals by the season's end.

So long as Cunningham can keep it going, remain a vital part of Indiana's on-court success—and she'll surely find other ways to go viral in the process.