
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham threw shade at the WNBA’s expansion cities Detroit and Cleveland. The WNBA announced three new expansion teams on Monday – Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.
The new teams will bring the total number of WNBA franchises to 18.
“Who would want to play in Detroit or Cleveland?”
The WNBA is growing rapidly – thanks to Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, 23. But Caitlin’s teammate Sophie Cunningham is not impressed with the expansion cities.

Sophie spoke on Detroit and Cleveland during team practice before Tuesday night’s WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in Minneapolis. She said Detroit and Cleveland are the last cities she would want to play in.
Sophie noted that the league will allow teams to protect certain players, while the unprotected players will be forced to go to Detroit or Cleveland.

“You want to listen to your players, too. Like where do they want to play?” Sophie said of the WNBA’s selection process.
She wondered why the league chose those cities over Miami, which doesn’t have a WNBA team.

“Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great one,” she said. “Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that nobody is using.”
Fever star Sophie Cunningham on the WNBA expanding to multiple new cities over the next few years:
"I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]" pic.twitter.com/pncwYpMar3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 1, 2025
Sophie, 28, is best known for appointing herself as Caitlin’s bodyguard during a recent game. Sophie’s jerseys sold out within minutes after that game. She earned a black belt in Taekwondo at age 6 and played football in high school.
Sophie’s comments angered residents in Detroit and Cleveland.
Tf is she talking about? Every major city in the US should have a WNBA team… or does she think it should only be for vacation cities? Just Miami, NY, LA, and… Indianapolis?
— Egg Shen (@five_demon_bag) July 1, 2025
Nothing screams excitement quite like Indianapolis
— JWeb (@JWeb777) July 1, 2025
NEW: Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham has gained over 530,000 followers on TikTok since tackling a Sun player who had fouled Caitlin Clark.
WNBA ratings are about to skyrocket.
Cunningham has become an overnight sensation after she yanked Sun player Jacy Sheldon to the… pic.twitter.com/fZyEAddr8W
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 19, 2025