Sophie Cunningham Had Three Words for New Indiana Fever Teammate originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
With their season now sitting at .500 (4-4) following their 79-52 victory on Saturday night over the Chicago Sky, the Indiana Fever have navigated an early stretch defined by both promise and adversity.
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On the one hand, the Fever have showcased balanced scoring, led by Kelsey Mitchell’s 17.4 points per game, while holding opponents to just 76.4 points per contest, the third-best mark in the league.
Yet injuries to key guards Caitlin Clark (quadriceps strain) and Sophie Cunningham (ankle) tested the depth of Indianapolis’s backcourt, forcing the franchise to dip into the WNBA’s hardship exception to sign new talent.
Guard Aari McDonald, signed June 1 under the league’s emergency hardship rule, took to Instagram on Sunday with a heartfelt post: “God’s Plan > My Plan #4Pops.”
One of the first to chime in was Cunningham herself, who replied, “🔥 we love this!”
McDonald was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft by Atlanta and earned WNBA All-Rookie Team honors after averaging 6.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.
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Across five WNBA campaigns with the Dream, Los Angeles Sparks and now Indiana, she’s averaged 8.7 points, 2.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds across 118 games.
At Arizona, McDonald was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, two-time AP All-American and the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8).Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Cunningham, meanwhile, was a 2019 second-round pick by Phoenix and spent six seasons with the Mercury before joining the Fever in February’s blockbuster four-team trade.
In 186 career games with Phoenix and the Fever, she has averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest.
At Missouri, she left as the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,187 points), free-throw leader (537 made), and earned All-SEC nods three times.
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Related: Chicago Sky Coach Sends Message After Angel Reese Decision
Related: Indiana Fever Star Gets Technical Foul Against Mystics
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
