For the first time since her January trade to Indiana, Sophie Cunningham returns to Phoenix to face her former team. And Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts made it clear—there are no hard feelings.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s game, Tibbetts opened up about the deal that sent Sophie Cunningham to the Fever. He didn’t hold back on the respect he has for her grit and presence, even saying she was Phoenix’s biggest sacrifice to bring in stars like Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally.
“Last year, I really enjoyed coaching Sophie,” Tibbetts said. “She brings a level of toughness that every team needs. She battled through injuries some players would have sat. She competes at a high level. When you do trades to get good players, unfortunately, you got to trade good players.”
Now in Indiana, Cunningham has taken on a new role—Caitlin Clark’s enforcer. Her intensity has been on full display all season, especially during the now-viral “Barbie Brawl” with Connecticut Sun rookie Jacy Sheldon.
Originally picked 13th overall in the 2019 draft, Cunningham had her breakout season with the Mercury in 2022, averaging 12.6 points per game. Her move to Indiana came as part of a massive four-team deal in January aimed at surrounding Clark with a stronger roster.
“No Way The Thing Actually Hit Me”: Sophie Cunningham falls victim to another sex toy incident
In a bizarre and unfortunate moment, Cunningham became the third WNBA player this week to be hit by a sex toy thrown from the crowd.
It happened Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena during the Fever’s game against the LA Sparks. With just under two minutes left in the second quarter, a dildo flew from the stands and hit Sophie Cunningham as she was preparing to shoot free throws.
Cunningham had previously posted about the odd trend on social media. After the incident, she joked in her Instagram Story: “No way the thing actually hit me. I knew I shouldn’t have tweeted that.”
Thankfully, no one was hurt. But the WNBA has since responded, warning fans that anyone caught throwing objects onto the court will be ejected and banned for a minimum of one year.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
