Attention and attendance to women’s sports are growing, and the WNBA is leading the charge. With this, the league also looks to expand its reach, declaring three new franchises soon, taking the total number of teams to 18 by 2030. A step will allow players to have more opportunities in the top women’s basketball league. But Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham was not pleased with the locations of new franchises.
In an interview, she voiced her concerns as she mentioned that the league should have taken players into consideration before making such decisions. She even raised concerns over people looking to go to Cleveland or Detroit to watch games. While the cities were excited to have a WNBA team, Cunningham’s remark did not go well. Cleveland Cavaliers’ star even stepped in, giving some ‘knowledge’ to the Fever veteran guard over her comments.
Sophie Cunningham Gets Reality Check From Cavs’ Star Guard
Sophie is known for her blunt replies and is also open to criticism. But her recent comments received huge backlash, especially from Detroit and Cleveland. The Cavs’ leading scorer for the last season, Donovan Mitchell, also made his voice heard, but in a subtle way.
Replying to the video of Sophie Cunningham’s interview, Mitchell just wrote “Cleveland in summertime” with two fire emojis. Those who follow the WNBA would understand that the league schedule is mostly during the summer and the NBA’s off-season. Cleveland is the first expansion team expected to make its debut in 2028. The other two new teams confirmed – Detroit and Philadelphia will begin their run in 2029 and 2030, respectively.
While ‘Spida’ showed his loyalty and love for the city, Sophie got an earful from Detroit and Cleveland, too. The City of Cleveland questioned Sophie’s judgment with an interview video of Caitlin Clark. In the video, CC praised her time in the city as she was playing her NCAA Final Four game during her time with Iowa.
Sophie, your teammate doesn’t seem to think Cleveland is too bad!
— City of Cleveland (@CityofCleveland) July 1, 2025
We’re proud to have been chosen to host a WNBA team and any player who comes here will feel that legendary passion Cleveland sports fans show our teams! https://t.co/FVQ2NjkmdO pic.twitter.com/dVTCud6w7x
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
City of Detroit also provided some insights to Sophie and reminded her that the past WNBA side in the city held the most spectators. Detroit Shock, the WNBA side from the city, was a three-time champion (2003, 2006, 2008) before moving to Dallas. It’s now known as Dallas wings.
The WNBA League Expansion Highlights Immense Growth
Rise of the WNBA might become a topic for the MBA students, as the league saw a huge surge in just one season. This allowed the core to lock in a lucrative broadcast deal and also get more proposals for the expansion. While the 2025 expansion team – Golden State Valkyries, is already making a noise in the WNBA, Portland and Toronto teams are also getting ready to jump in from 2026.
Investments are flowing in, the fans are flooding the gates, and the deals are skyrocketing at the moment for the league. Former player Candace Parker also expressed a desire to own stakes in a WNBA side. The decision to add three more franchises certainly shows that the league is getting ready to embrace this mega shift.
Also Read: Sophie Cunningham Cashes Caitlin Clark’s ‘Enforcer’ Role Into Massive Brand Collaboration.