While Caitlin Clark continues to battle narratives on the court while boosting the WNBA’s profile with the incessant social media conversation, most of which has nothing to do with the way she plays basketball. Her teammate Sophie Cunningham, who is now widely considered the second-most popular player in the WNBA (according to reports based on jersey sales and recent social media engagement) is continuing to put the spotlight on her, and if Caitlin won’t do it, Cunningham has leaned into a particular right-wing audience and become a darling of that contingent.
Indiana Fever Star Sophie Cunningham Does Sports Illustrated Bikini Photo Shoot
Cunningham’s podcast has helped lift her profile and give people a more personal look at how she lives. Cunningham is also not shy to show off her physical goods, and ever since Angel Reese walked the Victoria’s Secret runway Cunningham has admittedly been on a mission to get the same kind of love.
The Fever role player/enforcer debuted in the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, which dropped shortly after she put herself into the middle of an ongoing battle, when she said she opposed allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports. This is a common feeling among many women sports fans and participants, but it created a whirlwind of opinion and thrust Cunningham back into the spotlight.
The layout for her Sports illustrated spread generated an onslaught of opinions drawn between racial, gender and political lines. Some fans were impressed by Cunningham’s look. Others were not feeling her athletic and toned body and both let her know about it
“Kim Kardashian proved that for white women to look hot they need to look Black…Jessica Alba,” one fan captioned above photos of Cunningham’s photo shoot.
“The magazine is called Spors Illustrated not Sports Illustrate,” one critical fan said. “We shouldn’t have to draw a– and titt– on ourselves.”
“Not one ounce of sex appeal,” one woman commented on X.
“Industry plant,” said another, questioning the legitimacy of Cunningham being presented as a woman with sex appeal.
“She got an arse like John Lennon,” another fan said above a photo of the fallen legend and his first wife.
“This is the exact build that every woman in America had when Sir Mix Alot was the only person brave enough to declare that he likes big butts.”
“Could roll a quarter down her back and it would drop straight dowh,” another fan criticized.
“All that surgery and you still not bad? GEt a refund,” declared another unimpressed user.
“Why my male mutuals got more a– than her,” another quipped.
Sophie’s SI spread is definitely getting seen, and the expression “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” really holds true here.
Cunningham and Clark reportedly account for 71 percent of jersey sales and Clark has no desire to become a sex symbol or social media star. Regardless of how her narrative is spun, her popularity is forever connected to her performance on the court. She doesn’t give you much else.
Cunningham did have her supporters. A user named Jasmine.#MagaMemeQueen said, “Absolutely gorgeous.”
“Imagine working 10 hours and coming home to this,” said another admirer.
Sophie Cunningham Not Invited To Any WNBA All-Star Weekend Activities
Since becoming known as Caitlin Clark’s enforcer and carving out a brand of her own, Cunningham has somehow become the sensation of white middle aged men who watch women’s hoops. Regardless of how you feel about her, she speaks her mind, backs her teammates and won’t shy from a scuffle or a legendary finger-pointing confrontation.
She can also play, understanding her role on a first place team that has two ball-dominant scorers in the backcourt and an All-Star center in the middle.
Much like Clark, the conversation surrounding Cunningham often has very little to do with basketball. She’s been in headlines this week for comments about safety issues she has with certain “groups” participating in women’s sports.
It wasn’t totally her fault, as her popularity and 42.9 percent 3-point shooting surprisingly didn’t get her an invitation to any of the events this past weekend. Her popularity and the fact that she plays a key role on a winning team should have made her presence at the event a no-brainer.
WNBA Missed Opportunity To Market A Face Of The League
Instead she’s the center of controversy concerning a topic that doesn’t have anything to do with her positive performance on the court. It made the 9 points-per-game scorer more of a hero to some, but also put her under a microscope as a symbol of divisiveness within the league. Most of the backlash and cruel comments about her Sports Illustrated spread stems from a place that has nothing to do with basketball. Most of the support for it comes from the same place.
End of the day, it was another missed opportunity by the WNBA, to capitalize on Cunningham’s photo shoot and her unquestioned popularity as one of the faces of the league. There are certain players who are popular, but the league doesn’t seem to want to lean into their popularity.
