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Sophie Cunningham is a name you’ve likely read a lot about over the past month, despite her being a role player who broke the 10-point mark just four times in that stretch. Far from being a bad player, especially with the Indiana Fever featuring a dynamic duo in Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, Cunningham serves as a perfect, complementary piece in the rotation.
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Still, this is a player with a serious basketball background and someone who has been working as a game analyst since 2022, when she became a recurring analyst for the Phoenix Suns on their “Suns Live!” pregame, halftime and post-game TV coverage.
Ahead of this season, “USA Network” announced that Cunningham would join its on-air team as a contributor for the upcoming campaign and Cunningham isn’t hiding just how much the broadcasting role helped her to expand her basketball knowledge.
“I have learned so much. I think men, they’re phenomenal, phenomenal athletes. They are just, they’re the most elite athletic people,” Cunningham
“We have more… we’re athletes, but we’re more IQ and fundamentals. And I think our game, yeah, so, they don’t have a brain, we do. And so, that’s really what it boils down to.”
Men can always rely on their physical tools
Of course, “they don’t have a brain, we do” was said jokingly, but there is some truth to every joke. Working as an analyst for both NBA and WNBA games, the 6-foot-1 guard quickly realized how tough it is to compare the two leagues, even though both feature the most elite athletes in the world in their respective sports.
She understands that men were gifted by Mother Nature with physical tools that can propel them to the NBA on raw potential alone. Meanwhile, women must possess sound fundamentals and a high-level understanding of the game just to earn their spot under the sun.
“Just seeing them and the way they move and their schemes, I take that. And you see that, you have a lot of people coming to the WNBA from the NBA side and now our game is starting to adjust to that. But so, me being able to see that the past couple years, quick learner and like I’m, hey, that’s gonna… that’s, we need to be doing that and not this. And so, I don’t know, I’m appreciative, I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in,” Sophie stressed.
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“But it also takes guys who are willing to allow me to be in those positions and help me, because I was thrown to the fire. I did not go to J-school. I had good interviews in college and they’re like, ‘Hey, you can talk, why don’t you try this?’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ But I didn’t know it was like gonna be on the NBA. I was like, ‘Oh God,’ ‘This is not good.’ So it takes strong men to empower females too,” she added.
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Sophie believes the two leagues can certainly compare when it comes to basketball IQ
While the WNBA may never match the NBA in terms of raw athleticism and play style, Cunningham believes the two leagues can certainly compare when it comes to basketball IQ and through breaking down NBA games, she has continued to sharpen her own basketball mind.
It’s an interesting quote from a little over a year ago, especially at a time when her comments regarding transgender athletes went viral and became a relentless talking point around the WNBA, reaching a point where the basketball itself was pushed entirely to the back burner.
Sophie herself alluded to this fact recently, publicly calling on media members and fans covering the WNBA to shift the focus back to what really matters: the product on the floor, which has raised the bar significantly over the last few seasons.
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This story was originally published August 12, 2026 at 5:52 AM.