Fresh off a season-high in points scored (24) and a career-high-tying 3-pointers made (six) in the Indiana Fever’s (9-5) 113-92 win over the Toronto Tempo (7-8) on Tuesday night, fan-favorite guard Sophie Cunningham spoke on her upcoming USA Network TV analyst debut.
“I’m excited. I just love basketball. I think the game is so fun, and it’s brought me so many blessings, Cunningham said in a postgame interview with USA Network. “I’m playing tonight, but now I get to be you guys tomorrow.”
In April, Cunningham announced on Instagram that she’s joining USA Network as a contributor to studio coverage for the 2026 WNBA season, with her role similar to Draymond Green’s with ESPN and Caitlin Clark’s with NBC.
Last September, USA Sports reached an 11-year media rights agreement with the WNBA to televise at least 50 games per season, including select postseason games. In that deal, the network will broadcast a pair of marquee games on Wednesday nights.
Cunningham will be making her debut tonight as part of USA Network’s WNBA double-header coverage with the New York Liberty (10-4) visiting the Chicago Sky (4-9) at 6 p.m. CT, followed by the Las Vegas Aces (10-4) visiting the Phoenix Mercury (4-11) as the nightcap.
After a blazing-hot return with 35 points on 12-for-16 shooting and 9-for-11 from deep over the past two games after returning from a two-game right elbow injury absence last week, Cunningham joked that her resurgence is a result of a simple shot to the elbow.
“I think that elbow injection really helped me. I’m not even gonna lie,” Cunningham said.
“On a real note, I just knew that it was a matter of time until I started hitting my shots, and I think it’s the same thing for kind of everyone on our team. You know, sometimes it’s gonna be me, sometimes it’s gonna be Lex (Lexie Hull), Caitlin (Clark), AB (Aliyah Boston), and so we just have so many threats offensively. But for me, I was just feeling it, but my teammates were also sharing the ball tonight, and I think it just kind of shows the potential of our offense.”
While the Fever do have a home matchup against the Atlanta Dream (9-4) on Thursday night, Cunningham likely will only be a part of USA Network’s coverage for the first of two games tonight.
Indiana and Atlanta tip off Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m. CT, with the game streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Sophie Cunningham set for USA Network TV analyst debut
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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By Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire | USA TODAY Network
