Sophie Elizabeth Cunningham (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), as well as an analyst for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and model.
 Cunningham in 2019 | |||||||||
| No. 9 – Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | August 16, 1996 Columbia, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Rock Bridge (Columbia, Missouri) | ||||||||
| College | Missouri (2015–2019) | ||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2019: 2nd round, 13th overall pick | ||||||||
| Selected by the Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| 2019–present | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Melbourne Boomers | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||
Medals
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College career
editCunningham played four seasons of college basketball at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri for the Tigers.[1]
Professional career
editPhoenix Mercury (2019–)
editCunningham was selected as the thirteenth (13th) overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury.[2][3] Cunningham was the eighth (8th) University of Missouri alum to be drafted into the WNBA and was the highest selection for a former Tiger.
Analyst career
editIn December 2022, Cunningham became a recurring analyst for the Phoenix Suns on their Suns Live! pregame, halftime, and post-game TV coverage.[4][5]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
editRegular season
editStats current through end of 2024 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 32 | 5 | 12.2 | .354 | .304 | .882 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 21 | 11 | 18.9 | .385 | .235 | .880 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 30 | 4 | 17.5 | .437 | .410 | .704 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 5.6 |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 28 | 20 | 29.5 | .449 | .400 | .875 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 12.6 |
| 2023 | Phoenix | 31 | 31 | 29.0 | .413 | .337 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 11.3 |
| 2024 | Phoenix | 40 | 21 | 27.8 | .429 | .378 | .870 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
| Career | 6 years, 1 team | 182 | 92 | 22.8 | .422 | .362 | .859 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 7.7 |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 1.000 | 1.000° | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 9.5 | .500 | .333 | — | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 8 | 2 | 17.5 | .484 | .565 | 1.000 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 6.4 |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 31.0 | .455 | .375 | .333 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 7.5 |
| 2024 | Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 31.5 | .500 | .429 | — | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6.5 |
| Career | 5 years, 1 team | 15 | 6 | 19.5 | .491 | .500 | .625 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 5.8 |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Missouri | 32 | 32 | 30.1 | .502 | .356 | .831 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 14.0 |
| 2016–17 | Missouri | 31 | 31 | 32.9 | .482 | .379 | .848 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 17.5 |
| 2017–18 | Missouri | 31 | 31 | 32.7 | .542 | .457 | .836 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 18.5 |
| 2018–19 | Missouri | 35 | 35 | 34.3 | .481 | .403 | .839 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 17.8 |
| Career | 129 | 129 | 32.5 | .501 | .403 | .839 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 17.0 | |
References
edit- ^ "Sophie Cunningham - Women's Basketball - University of Missouri Athletics". mutigers.com.
- ^ "Sophie Cunningham Drafted by the Phoenix Mercury". Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ "Cunningham Makes Phoenix Mercury's Opening Night Roster". Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ "Phoenix Mercury Guard Sophie Cunningham to Join Suns Broadcast Team as Guest Analyst". NBA.com. December 15, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "See Sophie Cunningham on Suns Live! and on the Court". USA Today. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "Sophie Cunningham WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
External links
editWikimedia Commons has media related to Sophie Cunningham.
- Sophie Cunningham instagram
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Missouri Tigers bio