Here in the early going of Sophie Cunningham’s career with the Indiana Fever, the Atlanta Dream have loomed large. It was the preseason finale on May 10 against the Dream that saw Cunningham roll her right ankle badly, forcing an injury that has kept her on the sidelines since and delayed her first game with her new team after having spent the first six years of her time in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury.
But on Thursday, again facing the Dream, Cunningham finally made her way back to the floor, and was impressive in doing so. She was, essentially, the backup point guard, and logged nine points, six rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes, registering a plus-10 on the box score in a game the Fever won, 81-76.
Cunningham has been practicing with the team lately, but has been limited. Still, she got her feet wet with a very solid return in her first action of 2025.
Fellow bench star Lexie Hull, who had 10 points in 27 minutes off the pine, gave Cunningham ample credit for the performance.
“She brings a level of energy that is huge,” Hull said. “Not playing in a couple of games, not getting a chance to practice fully before getting back out there, I was just really proud of her, for the energy that she brought. She made some big plays down the stretch, getting her hands on (balls), getting steals, and getting deflections.
Cunningham came to the Fever as a centerpiece in the massive, 10-team blockbuster trade that went down in February. She had two excellent seasons in 2022 and 2023, averaging 11.9 points and shooting 36.9% on 3-pointers in those two years, but struggled in 2024 (8.4 points).
Cunningham and the Fever will take the floor again on Saturday in a marquee matchup against the defending-champion New York Liberty at 1 p.m. ET back home in Indiana.
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