Sophie Cunningham has a reputation as Caitlin Clark’s on-court protector, enforcer, and ultimate teammate. Former NCAA athlete Riley Gaines appears to agree with that characterisation entirely, and she made that known on the Will Cain Show, a video of which was shared on the show’s Instagram page and Gaines’ own YouTube account on Tuesday.
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Gaines also believes that Clark and Cunningham are the two most recognizable names in the WNBA right now. And for her, the smartest thing the league could do is lean into that recognition and use it to push the sport to new heights.
“Everyone needs a friend like Sophie Cunningham,” Gaines said on the Will Cain Show. “If the WNBA were smart, they would lean into those two players specifically. I would say nationally, those are the two players that most people know and that most people care about.
“Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark could carry the league to relevancy if the league would let them.”
Gaines seems right in her assessment of Caitlin Clark as a historic, league-carrying draw. And her characterisation of the Clark-Cunningham on-court relationship also appears well-founded, as it has been evident in a number of memorable moments. However, she may have exaggerated Sophie Cunningham’s standalone national star power somewhat.
Cunningham is beloved by Clark fans and respected across the league. But framing her as one of the two most nationally known players in the WNBA is a stretch that not everyone would agree with.
And Cunningham herself would not entirely agree with that framing either. Speaking on the WNBA’s 30th anniversary poster, which omitted Caitlin Clark but included her, Cunningham was unambiguous about how she felt. That spot, she made clear, should have been Clark’s.
The WNBA omitting Caitlin Clark from their 30th anniversary poster is one of the most discussed controversies surrounding the WNBA star this past week. And it shows no signs of fading. Like many who have commented on the development, Sophie Cunningham also believes the league is failing to adequately market one of the greatest commercial forces women’s basketball has ever seen.
“You are leaving out a generational player. The best player to ever go through the WNBA on this roster,” Cunningham said on Tuesday’s episode of her Show Me Something podcast. “If they were smart, they would market the sh– out of some of us. They don’t.”
For Cunningham, there is no ambiguity about whose face should be on that poster. It is not hers, and she said so directly.
“I should never. That should be Caitlin. That should be Kelsey Mitchell, that should be Aliyah Boston. Like, why are we putting random players on there?”
It is a rare moment of a player publicly questioning her own inclusion in favour of a teammate. And coming from Cunningham, Clark’s most vocal on-court ally, it only adds another strong voice to a conversation that has been going on for a while now.
