Sophie Cunningham’s youth basketball camp in Carmel, Indiana produced no shortage of viral moments on Sunday. All of the fun filled moments included her hilariously blocking young campers during one-on-one drills to posing for the popular pointing meme with kids eager to copy her signature celebration. But amid all the lighthearted content, one quieter moment stood out.
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Cunningham took time to recognize a military family in attendance, posing for a photo with the young camper and her parents. The moment was captured in a video shared by Emmy Award-winning sports anchor Andrew Chernoff. Cunningham reposted the clip on her X account afterward with a simple four word message: “we LOVE our veterans!”
The camp welcomed more than 300 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 15, and came on the heels of a back-to-back stretch for Cunningham, who had dropped 11 points in demolishing New York 108-88 that very same day . For her, the camp was simply another chance to give back.
“You see these camps getting bigger, you see the WNBA platform getting bigger. And so with that, that means there’s more on our plate to give back as much as possible. And this is one of the ways we do that,” Cunningham said, per Wish-TV.
The event mirrored one hosted by her Indiana Fever teammate Lexie Hull, who ran her second annual youth basketball camp at the same facility back in June. Cunningham may have mirrored Hull’s approach a little too closely during the “No Mercy” one-on-one sessions, where she ended up blocking multiple campers despite her size advantage over them.
Cunningham had joked beforehand that she would go easier than Hull, who went viral doing the same thing at her own camp. In the end, both the kids and their parents seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
Sophie Cunningham explains why the camp was worth the busy schedule
Beyond the highlight-reel moments, Cunningham said her biggest goal was showing kids, especially young girls, that they don’t have to choose between being competitive and being themselves.
“One of my biggest messages to little boys but really little girls is that it’s okay to be feisty,” Cunningham said, per WISH-TV. “It’s okay to be sassy. It’s okay to go out there, work hard and sweat, but also be girly if you want. Like, I think you can be all of it. All these kids are so sweet, and I’m just out here giving them confidence and encouraging them.”
That commitment stood out given the timing. The camp came just a day after Indiana’s win over Las Vegas and another win over New York on that very same day. Cunningham still spent around four hours with campers rather than treat the event as an afterthought.
“I’m being very genuine when I say that when they come and give their time, their money, our games are not cheap,” Cunningham said, per WISH-TV. “This is the least that I could do to inspire the next generation and give back as much as I can. We just got done with a back-to-back and now I’m going to be here for four hours, but I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world. That’s what it’s about.”
Cunningham now turns her attention back to the court as the Fever host the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, July 22, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.