Sophie Cunningham Receives Blunt Message From NBA Superstar on Tuesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
While the Indiana Fever are playing in the Commissioner Cup Final on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Lynx, Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham is still going viral for her controversial comments on WNBA expansion.
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On Monday, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that in the coming years, several cities will be gaining teams in the league, with the three latest being Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia.
While these are all prominent markets in the NBA and have been for years, Cunningham made it very clear that there isn’t much of draw to going to Detroit or Cleveland and the league should take more of interest in where the players would like to go, pointing out Miami, Nashville, and Kansas City as three possible cities.
“I also think that you want to listen to your players. Like, where do they want to play?” Cunningham said. “Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? And I do think that Miami would’ve been a great one, like everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city, Kansas City, amazing opportunity, there’s a huge arena downtown that no one’s using.”
She continued, “It’s kind of a hard situation, but man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8).© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Cunningham’s comments sparked notable backlash, particularly given that she currently plays in Indiana — a state also located in the Midwest and not drastically different from Cleveland in terms of lifestyle and perception.
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Her remarks even prompted a response from Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell, who made it clear he disagreed with her take on the city.
“Cleveland in the summertime,” Mitchell posted on social media, accompanied by fire emojis.
As of now, Portland and Toronto are set to debut WNBA teams in 2026, as previously announced. Cleveland will join the league in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.
These expansion efforts follow the successful launch of the Golden State Valkyries this season. The team has already drawn strong fan support and performed well on the court, holding a 9–7 record in their inaugural WNBA campaign.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.