Sophie Cunningham’s ‘Everyone's Super Bowl’ Remark Says It All About Fever

Sophie Cunningham offered a critique of the Indiana Fever in an interesting manner.

Aug 23, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) reacts while warming up prior to a game against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Indiana Fever wing Sophie Cunningham is back to podcasting, but her revamped show has a renewed focus on basketball. And in the process she offered a critique of the Fever by drawing an analogy regarding the attention around their games.

Cunningham was discussing how the team needs to improve defensively on her No Hesitation show with basketball trainer Drew Hanlen and pointed out how some of their struggles on that end and on the boards can be exposed because other teams get up to play them.

"I think our biggest struggle is, and we talk about this all the time, it's very rare for all five of us out on the court to be on a string. Because there's always one person who is just kind of ball watching or not doing what they're supposed to do," Cunningham said.

"We shoot ourselves in the foot. Or, we play really good defense and then we don't go and get the rebound and then they get a wide open three. And against us, people shoot the s*** out of it. We're everyone's Super Bowl," she continued.

Cunningham's Comments Were On Point

Cunningham is correct in more ways than one. Not only are the bones of her comments accurate, as the Fever have surrendered 100-point games at a historic rate this season, sometimes offsetting their offense, which is statistically the best ever.

But she is also right about getting the best effort from other teams. It's hard to capture that specifically, but Indiana continuously sets ratings records, obviously in large part due to the presence of Caitlin Clark. So it's only natural that opponents would want to make a statement on the big stage.

The Fever are currently 10th in the league in defensive rating. That will need to improve some in the postseason for them to win it all. Indiana doesn't exactly need to be a defensive juggernaut but closer to passable and middle of the pack would be desirable.

They are 9th overall in rebounding, and 5th on the defensive end. That latter number isn't glaring but better effort on defense and the glass will be key come playoff time.

The good news is, there should be no extra motivation based on marquee status in the postseason, as every team will be playing for the same goal and the same stakes. And the Fever's high-powered attack led by Clark and Kelsey Mitchell has been nearly impossible to contain.

If they can shore up the other parts of the game, the Fever certainly have a chance to win the WNBA's equivalent of the Super Bowl.