{"id":237352,"date":"2025-10-19T23:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T23:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/237352\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T23:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T23:51:11","slug":"indiana-fever-fans-make-sophie-cunningham-request-amid-wnba-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/237352\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Fever Fans Make Sophie Cunningham Request Amid WNBA Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It has been more than two weeks since the Indiana Fever&#8217;s playoff run <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/sophie-cunningham-makes-promise-indiana-053533155.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:came to an end;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">came to an end<\/a>, but the team is still celebrating its remarkable 2025 season. Despite superstar point guard Caitlin Clark playing just 13 games and four other players suffering season-ending injuries, head coach Stephanie White led Indiana to the WNBA semifinals for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Center Aliyah Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell performed at an <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/indiana-fever-react-kelsey-mitchell-184834111.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:all-WNBA level;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">all-WNBA level<\/a> as the Fever won the WNBA Commissioner&#8217;s Cup and set a new single-season record for most wins in franchise history (24).<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Another player whose contributions were worth highlighting was veteran guard Sophie Cunningham. That&#8217;s exactly what the Fever did on Sunday, triggering a wave of responses on social media.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) celebrates a three point shot during a game.Mark J&amp;period; Rebilas-Imagn Images\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/54c159c7707a1049864652ccf3b634fd.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) celebrates a three point shot during a game.Mark J&amp;period; Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Nicknamed &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/caitlin-clark-teammate-earns-nickname-051039690.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Enforcer;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Enforcer<\/a>,&#8221; Cunningham averaged 8.6 points, and 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game before tearing her MCL in August.<\/p>\n<p>The sharpshooter was the latest subject of the team&#8217;s daily season in review campaign on social media.<\/p>\n<p>After the Fever put the spotlight on Cunningham&#8217;s contributions to the successful season, fans in the comments begged the team to re-sign the 29-year-old for the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We really need her back for next season, she only scratched the surface of her real potential before injury,&#8221; said a popular comment on the team&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DP_ysjYDFIY\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram post;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Instagram post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Please bring Sophie back!!!!&#8221; said one response, while another begged, &#8220;Please keep her.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I started paying attention to basketball again because of Caitlin,&#8221; wrote a fan on Instagram. &#8220;I fell in love with Basketball again because of Sophie. Can&#8217;t wait for next season! Please resign her!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sophie_cham\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:@sophie_cham;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">@sophie_cham<\/a>\u00a0needs to stay at the Fever,&#8221; added a reply. &#8220;Quality player.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Like the majority of players in the WNBA, including most of Indiana&#8217;s roster, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/indiana-fever-facing-sophie-cunningham-041320110.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cunningham is a free agent this offseason;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cunningham is a free agent this offseason<\/a>. The league&#8217;s collective bargaining agreement expires Oct. 31, and with a significant increase in player salaries expected in the next CBA, players like Cunningham put themselves in the position to take financial advantage next season.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to her on-court strengths, Cunningham <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/unexpected-sophie-cunningham-news-turns-184808991.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:became one of the most marketable players in the WNBA;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">became one of the most marketable players in the WNBA<\/a> in 2025, bringing enhanced value to any future contract the Fever may offer. However, her combination of age and uncertain injury status may cause hesitation and push the team to prioritize other options at the wing position.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know truly what the future holds,&#8221; Cunningham <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ADChernoff\/status\/1979261132583137448\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:said in her exit interview;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">said in her exit interview<\/a> this month. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if I&#8217;m going to be back here. But I do know that my time here so far was pretty fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham is <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/sophie-cunningham-makes-offer-caitlin-160618466.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:staying busy this offseason;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">staying busy this offseason<\/a>, but she has not announced any plans to play basketball. Instead, she is in the gym focusing on recovering from her knee injury with a <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/sophie-cunningham-reveals-timeline-fever-024206498.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:targeted return date;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">targeted return date<\/a> at the start of the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/sophie-cunningham-makes-offer-caitlin-160618466.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: Sophie Cunningham Makes Offer to Caitlin Clark Amid WNBA Offseason;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related: Sophie Cunningham Makes Offer to Caitlin Clark Amid WNBA Offseason<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/indiana-fever-facing-sophie-cunningham-041320110.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: Indiana Fever Facing Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull Decisions After WNBA Playoff Loss;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related: Indiana Fever Facing Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull Decisions After WNBA Playoff Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\/indiana-fever\/indiana-fever-fans-make-sophie-cunningham-request-amid-wnba-offseason-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Athlon Sports;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Athlon Sports<\/a> on Oct 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">WNBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=athlonsports.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Preferred Source by clicking here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been more than two weeks since the Indiana Fever&#8217;s playoff run came to an end, but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1760,2839,4806,4805,99,434,83943],"class_list":{"0":"post-237352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-caitlin-clark","9":"tag-indiana-fever","10":"tag-kelsey-mitchell","11":"tag-sophie-cunningham","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-wnba","14":"tag-wnba-season"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}