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About SophieIndependent

Current team · checked 18 September 2026

She plays for the
Indiana Fever.

Sophie Cunningham plays for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, as a guard wearing number 8. She joined the club from the Phoenix Mercury in a four-team trade dated 31 January 2025 by the league and announced by the club on 2 February 2025, and re-signed with Indiana in April 2026 on a one-year deal covering the 2026 season.
Team
Indiana Fever
League
WNBA
Position
Guard
Shirt
No. 8
At Indiana since
Feb 2025
Deal runs to
End of 2026

Status · as of 3 October 2026

Is she still with the Fever?

What team does she play for?
The Indiana Fever, for whom she played the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Is she still with the Indiana Fever?
She finished the 2026 season with Indiana, which ended on 1 October 2026. Her one-year contract covered that season only, and she is due to become an unrestricted free agent when the WNBA's free-agency period opens. No new contract had been announced as of 3 October 2026, so her 2026 contract does not establish a team for 2027. The open question is followed in her free-agency story.
Is she still playing in the WNBA?
Yes. She played 43 regular-season games for Indiana in 2026 after recovering from the knee injury that ended her 2025 season. No retirement has been announced.
Was she kicked out of or banned from the WNBA?
No. She was ejected from a game against the Connecticut Sun in June 2025, and the league fined her afterwards but did not suspend her. In August 2025 she was fined again, for comments about referees. A fine or an ejection is not a ban, and no suspension or ban appears in the sources consulted.

Sources: USA Today — What's next for Sophie Cunningham with the Fever eliminated (2 October 2026); IndyStar via Yahoo Sports — Mabrey, Cunningham fined but not suspended (18 June 2025); AP — Cunningham fined a second time for comments about WNBA referees (7 August 2025).

Professional path

Every team she has played for

Editorial illustration of a basketball on a road leading from the desert city of Phoenix towards Indianapolis.
AI-generated editorial illustration of Sophie Cunningham's move from Phoenix to Indiana. Not a documentary photograph.

  1. 2019

    Draft

    Taken 13th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round.

  2. 2019—2024

    Phoenix Mercury

    Six seasons and 182 games, including the 2021 WNBA Finals.

  3. 2025

    Indiana Fever

    Arrives in the four-team trade of 31 January 2025; wins the Commissioner's Cup that July.

  4. 2026

    Indiana Fever

    Re-signed in April on a one-year deal after entering free agency.

    Current

Her professional path in order, written in team names rather than club marks. Original graphic by this publication.

The transaction

How she came to be in Indiana

The mechanics

In the Indiana—Phoenix leg of the deal, Indiana acquired Cunningham and the 19th pick in the 2025 draft, and Phoenix received NaLyssa Smith and the 8th pick. Other clubs were involved in the wider transaction; only the leg that moved her is documented in the club release consulted here, so it is described as a multi-team trade.

No view is offered on which club came out ahead, and no motive is attributed to either front office beyond what the release itself says.

Her Indiana seasons in detail →The story of the trade →Her injury and current status →Contract and salary →

Current team, position and shirt number: Indiana Fever — 2026 team roster (official) (roster) and WNBA.com player bio, both read 18 September 2026. The 2026 signing: Indiana Fever release — Fever re-sign guard Sophie Cunningham (12 April 2026). Trade details: Indiana Fever release — Fever acquire guard Sophie Cunningham. Draft: Basketball Reference — Sophie Cunningham.