For much of the 2025 season, the Indiana Fever have felt like it’s them against the world—and their play reflects it. Despite facing heavy physicality, especially against Caitlin Clark, the team ranked just ninth in free-throw attempts per game. Coupled with the league ignoring repeated concerns from the coaching staff, this only strengthened their “us against everybody” mindset.

Now, having reached the WNBA semifinals despite doubts and obstacles, the Indiana Fever aren’t holding back in calling out their naysayers. It started with a team social media post highlighting analysts who had written them off against Atlanta. Nearly the entire roster, including Caitlin Clark, shared it. And recently, unsurprisingly, Sophie Cunningham chimed in with another take on the latest episode of her Show Me Something podcast.

“The league is so mad that we won, because we’re literally not supposed to be here at all. And that just fuels our fire even more,” Cunningham said. This isn’t the first time that an Indiana Fever player has thrown shade at the rest of the league after achieving something. If you remember, after shocking the basketball and beating the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final, Caitlin Clark was heard saying, “I just know everybody in the league is SICK.”

Just like CC’s statement invited strong reactions from the fans, so have Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments. As Yahoo Sports shared her quotes on their X profile, WNBA fans had some interesting reactions. The reactions were not just limited to fans. A major WNBA reporter also chimed in to share her thoughts on Sophie’s comments.

Fans React to Sophie Cunningham’s Bold WNBA Comments

Reacting to Sophie Cunningham’s comments, NBC reporter Natalie Esquire said, “Why would the league be mad that they won? The league?” At first glance, this might seem like a reasonable reaction. The league is supposed to remain neutral, after all. But there are valid reasons Cunningham said what she did.

In the now-infamous July matchup between the Sun and Fever, the chaos unfolded as follows: Caitlin Clark received a technical foul, Marina Mabrey was T’d up, Jacy Sheldon was assessed a flagrant, and Sophie Cunningham was ejected. Many argued that Sheldon should have been ejected as well, and much earlier, long before Cunningham stepped in to defend Clark after she was poked in the eye. Cunningham’s play was deemed “unsportsmanlike conduct,” and she was later called for a flagrant-2 foul.

Another fan who disagreed with Sophie’s statement said, “What??? With all the hype around CC? All the nationally televised games, more than any other team?? The W don’t want them to win?? I’m confused 🤷‍♀️” Even though much of what the fan said is true, the sentiment often swings the other way as well, since the team is seen as popular but not necessarily talented.

On September 13, ESPN released a piece in which nine of its women’s basketball reporters weighed in on the first-round WNBA playoff matchups. When it came to Indiana Fever versus Atlanta Dream, all nine analysts picked Atlanta to come out on top, with six forecasting a complete sweep in favor of the Dream. This is the Fever social media post we were talking about earlier with a “Now You Know” caption, which has been a tagline for Indiana throughout this 2025 campaign.

The recent episode likely reinforced Cunningham’s feelings even more. It all started when the Indiana Fever’s official account shared a clip online. Caitlin Clark commented beneath it, saying, “The refs couldn’t stop us” and “Elite bench mob.” The WNBA, however, didn’t take kindly to it and fined Clark $200. She responded on X, writing: “Got fined $200 for this lol. Bench Mob will be even more rowdy tomorrow, let’s go!“

Officiating had been a major concern for the Fever throughout their series against Atlanta. Across the three-game postseason matchup, 118 fouls were called in total. 49 against Indiana and the rest against Atlanta. Yet the numbers also reflected that Indiana bore the brunt of Atlanta’s physical play. A script the team has had to go against the entire season.

Then came the supporters and they came with receipts. One commented, “Feel like teams with a MVP finalist should be in the mix 🤷‍♂️.” Well, yes. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was named one of five finalists for the 2025 Kia MVP award, the WNBA announced Friday. She led the league with 111 three-pointers, scored 890 points (second-most overall), and averaged 20.2 points per game, breaking a franchise record set by Tamika Catchings in 2003.

Mitchell started all 44 games, logging 1,381 minutes, and set Fever records for single-season points, career three-pointers (669, eighth in WNBA history), and career 30+ point games (11), surpassing Catchings. If a team with such a player isn’t supposed to be in the conversation, then who is?

Another fan displayed their full support for Cunningham’s comments and said, “Yesssssss! Go Soph, I love how mouthy she is.” “Spicy” Sophie is indeed known for being outspoken, which makes her a fan favorite. Even after receiving different fines for things she said on her podcast, she has continued to speak her mind. After that Jacy Sheldon incident, she gained around a million followers on TikTok.

She now has a far larger audience to express her opinions to—an outcome that, in a twist of irony, came thanks to the league itself.

With the Indiana Fever already going well beyond anyone expected them to go, one thing is clear: They cannot be taken for granted. The more you doubt them, the more they rise and prove others wrong. Something that has been well evident since mid-July. Now, with the battle of two MVP contenders set to begin, it will be interesting to see if the Indiana Fever can once again spring a surprise.