Caitlin Clark’s injury had the potential to create a massive problem for the Indiana Fever—and the entire WNBA. Indiana’s TV viewership dipped by 53%, and the league as a whole saw a 55% drop, as two of its brightest young stars went missing: Clark with a groin injury and her biggest rival, Angel Reese, with a lingering back issue.

At a time when the league risked losing momentum, Sophie Cunningham appeared as the unexpected spark. Her rise to stardom began with a now-viral on-court altercation against the Connecticut Sun. Cunningham, stepping into the role of Clark’s unofficial “protector,” committed a hard foul on Jacy Sheldon, who had poked Clark in the eye earlier in the game. The play earned her an ejection and a $900 fine, but it also became the moment that changed her career.

However, at a time when the league was missing two of its most prominent young stars, Sophie Cunningham’s rise to stardom has been a welcome boost to the WNBA. Sophie’s explosion to stardom started with an on-court altercation against the Connecticut Sun. Retaliating in response to protect Caitlin Clark, Sophie committed a hard foul on Jacy Sheldon, who had earlier poked Caitlin Clark in her eye. Though the foul did result in an ejection and a $900 fine from the league, it paid off in ways no one could have dreamed. 

The viral ejection led to a boost in her social media following. “ I went from 200,000 on TikTok before the fight, and then I had like 350,000 on Instagram. Over the night, over a million on both. Insane…. I’ve worked my whole life to become a WNBA player. And now people know me as WWE.” Sophie said during her podcast, Show Me Something. This ‘fight’ also affected her commercial success with a new endorsement deal. Sophie Cunningham embraced the ‘protector’ image and even leaned into it for a commercial of her latest endorsement, Ring.

Some might say that all this support for Caitlin Clark is just a way to ride her coattails and be viral. However, Sophie Cunningham has continued to support Caitlin whenever a chance presents itself publicly. Just recently, on the pilot of her podcast, she again gave Caitlin Clark her flowers. She emphatically said, “ She’s not the face of the league. What?… When people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league, or our league would be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as f–. You’re dumb as f–.” 

Her support of Caitlin Clark has not gone unnoticed by the fans as well. With her jersey selling out soon after the Connecticut Sun ejection, fans have certainly responded positively to her since her public defense of CC. And now, even the analysts are crediting her for carrying the league in the absence of two major superstars of the league. In a recent Fox Sports Radio episode, WNBA insiders Dan Beyer and Monse Bolanos discussed the same.

Discussing how Sophie Cunningham has filled the void left by CC and Reese, Monse Bolanos said the following. “If it wasn’t for Sophie Cunningham, I know the conversation around Sophie is either up and down in the sense that you’re either a huge fan or you hate her, but luckily the WNBA people are still talking about it and it has to do with Sophie Cunningham.” Dan Beyer then joined the conversation and compared Sophie Cunningham’s standing in the league to that of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. He explained that for many fans, it’s impossible to like both of them. You either love Caitlin and hate Angel Reese, or Love Angel Reese and hate Caitlin Clark. 

While it may seem extreme, this is the case for many players with strong personalities. Take Draymond Green, for example. Everybody hates him but desperately wants a teammate like him. Similarly, Sophie Cunningham plays an enforcer role. Everybody hates an opposition like this, but to have deep playoff runs, you need players like her. But Sophie doesn’t care one bit about what others may think or say about her; she will keep speaking her mind, and we’re all for it.

Sophie Cunningham Spills The Beans On Caitlin Clark’s Impact in the WNBA

It has been more than 6 months since Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham have been teammates. Since then, their relationship and chemistry have evolved into one of the fan favourites in the league. Fans have witnessed a lot of this publicly. However, in her new podcast, Show Me Something, Sophie Cunningham gave the inside information on Caitlin Clark’s impact on the WNBA. 

Sophie even gave the fans inside information about how opponents plan for games against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. She shared that while playing for the Phoenix Mercury the previous year, there was a lot of hostility. The game plan for CC was to ‘toughen her up’ and to ‘show her what the Ws’. While she did admit that this is the policy whenever a much hyped rookie enters the league, in Caitlin’s case, it was too much. 

Speaking about the Connecticut Sun fight incident, Sophie said that she felt during the game that things were getting too extreme. She also called out the referees for their inconsistent whistles. Eventually, things got too much and she decided to take matters into her own hands. While giving her side of the incident, she described herself as “calm, cool, and collected” throughout the scuffle. 

Sophie also gave an insight into how much attention Caitlin Clark gets. She said that Caitlin Clark has an almost ‘cult-like’ followin,g and there is a constant need for security. She further explained that due to Caitlin Clark’s intense fan following, any venue they play at seems like a home game for the Indiana Fever. 

While the Indiana Fever have had a good run of form for the past few games, there is no doubt that everyone is eagerly waiting for Caitlin Clark to get back. For now, Kelsey Mitchell is doing a bang-up job of leading the troops in CC’s absence. However, as the high-pressure playoff game starts approaching, having Caitlin back would be the key to a deep run.