The Indiana Fever have tried to navigate life without superstar Caitlin Clark in the lineup for much of the 2025 season. Coming off a Rookie of the Year and All-WNBA First Team season in 2024, the expectations for Clark and the Fever were sky high.
Clark started the season strong with a 20-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance against the Chicago Sky, but has spent three different stints on the sidelines with a variety of injuries.
She suffered her most recent injury in the second-to-last game before the WNBA All-Star break and has not returned to the lineup.
Without Clark in the lineup, the Fever have inserted Sophie Cunningham into the starting lineup, and the Fever have had recent success when Sophie plays well.
Cunningham has made headlines on the court with her strong shooting performances, and off the court when she criticizes WNBA referees or trashes cities she does not think players want to play.
Cunningham's popularity has skyrocketed since she defended Clark in a game where the refs were non-existent.
During a heated battle against the Connecticut Sun, guard Jacy Sheldon went after Clark following a tough foul and knocked her to the ground. On the next breakaway opportunity, Cunningham slammed Sheldon to the ground, causing a brawl.
Cunningham was ejected from the game, but became a hero to Fever and Clark fans. Her jersey sold out, and her Instagram followers shot up following the incident.
Cunningham has been all over the headlines and created another one following an NSFW rant on her new podcast, "Show Me Something."
**ALERT: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS SEVERAL INSTANCES OF PROFANITY**
In the words of @sophaller... if you think @CaitlinClark22 is NOT the face of the league, you’re dumb as 💩 pic.twitter.com/qu2RmNYxAC
— Show Me Something (@ShowMe_Pod) July 31, 2025
On the debut episode of her new podcast, Cunningham ripped into people who do not think that Clark is the face of the league. She called them dumb, along with more colorful language.
Cunningham says it pisses her off when people do not think she is the face of the league, and she does not understand why people are so against her. She also noted they are making tons of money off of her and this is what the league wanted, so why fight against that?
Cunningham also said she does not understand all the hatred towards Clark, and wants people to "just be nice."
Sophie has consistently defended Clark on and off the court, and her solid play has helped the Indiana Fever move in the right direction during Clark's absence.