Sophie Cunningham has been one of the more popular faces of the Phoenix Mercury since she was drafted in 2019 and because of her hard work and dedication to the franchise, she was awarded a one-year contract extension on Saturday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Her contract will now run through 2025 and lead up to the expansion of the league in 2026. The WNBA will be growing to 14 teams, with San Francisco joining next year and Toronto the following season.
On Sunday at a media availability, Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren discussed the process of getting this deal done and is pleased that Cunningham is committed to the franchise.
“It’s something that happens over time,” U’Ren said. “We’re thrilled to have her. Sophie represents everything we want from a skillset standpoint. She’s been a fantastic teammate, fantastic leader for us. It’s something I think on both sides we wanted to get done. I never felt it was too much in jeopardy, I think she enjoys living here. We wanted to get it done for a long time, thrilled to have her.”
Appearing in all 38 games so far this season, the 6-foot-1 guard is averaging 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Regarded as one of the better 3-point shooters in the WNBA, she is shooting at a 37.7% clip from deep.
Even though the Missouri product isn’t necessarily considered a star in the league, she can defend all five positions, has no issues with coming off the bench or starting, changes up her playstyle on the fly and produces energy that her teammates can feed off of.
Having a dependable option like Cunningham who is a do-it-all type of player, U’Ren believes she is a vital piece to a team that has major aspirations of success.
“You need those players. Obviously you need the top-end, star talent, but you need the Sophie Cunninghams,” U’Ren said. “Her shooting ability makes it easier for everybody, she’s tough as nails, plays night in and night out, her shot profile is really clean. I think she is a perfect iteration of the type of player you need to get to the top and to win at a high level.”
There are just two games left for Phoenix in the regular season after they beat the Chicago Sky 93-88 on Sunday, but the timing of Cunningham’s extension wasn’t a problem just as long as it was agreed upon.
U’Ren dismissed the thought of “why now and not free agency,” claiming that there is uncertainty in free agency and it is better to get an answer now than wait.
“Anything can happen in free agency. If you are at a point where the player wants to be here and we want the player, always better to get it done early and take any semblance of doubt out of the equation,” U’Ren said. “Now it clarifies our cap situation, we can make better decisions, just less uncertainty. We wanted to show her that we were committed to her and we appreciate that in return from her.”
Cunningham is only the fourth player on the Mercury to be locked up contractually for next year. Kahleah Copper, Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen all have another year on their contracts while the rest of the team will become free agents after this season, including Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and Monique Billings.
Since Cunningham has chosen to remain in Phoenix, U’Ren said her decision helped the front office identify what they need to accomplish when they start constructing the 2025 roster.
“Absolutely, it’s a huge benefit for us,” U’Ren said. “The first benefit is Sophie locked in but second, it is another key piece that we know we don’t have to worry about or wonder about in the offseason. We can continue to put the pieces together and try to put together a highly-achieving team.”
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
