After the Indiana Fever's season was ended by the Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, they will return the drawing board to assemble a championship contender while building around No. 1 picks Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark.
The Fever's biggest question marks this offseason surround the future of guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham, who are both unrestricted free agents.
Fever general manager Amber Cox made it clear that the organization hopes to make Mitchell "a Fever girl for the rest of her career," but Cox was non-committal about Cunningham's future with the organization.
Will the Fever bring back Cunningham? Or will the veteran guard land elsewhere on her third team in four years?
USA TODAY Sports Studio IX break
down the offseason ahead for the Fever and Cunningham.
What are the Fever looking for this offseason?
Outside of re-signing Kelsey Mitchell, Fever head coach Stephanie White said Indiana's main focus this offseason is finding "complimentary pieces to our Big 3" of Mitchell, Clark and Boston.
"Everybody would love to have a long, athletic wing that can defend around the 3-point line that can help pick up pressure 94 feet and can rebound and give us another slasher," White said during her exit interview. "Obviously everybody liked to have size at every position and really the ability to have another player that can stretch the floor and stretch the floor consistently. You got to have consistent production from the bench."
Cunningham was the Fever's leading scorer off the bench this season, averaging 7.9 points in 43 games (three starts). She finished as the fourth-leading scorer in Indiana, behind Mitchell (24.7 ppg), Clark (22.3 ppg) and Boston (16.1 ppg). Cunningham's 67 made 3-pointers ranked third on the team behind Mitchell (135) and Clark (114) and her 41.9% from the 3-point line trailed only Mitchell (45%).
"Sophie (Cunningham's) had two really productive years for us in terms of shooting the basketball," Cox said during her exit interview. "She is a really solid leader in the locker room, a great connector. She brings levity, but also brings a lot of experience and she's serious and is an important voice in our locker room when we need it, when we really need to lock in.
"She's an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations."
Cunningham averaged 9.5 points shooting 48.2% from the field and 44% from the 3-point line in May, June and July, but struggled to replicate her success in the second-half of the season, with her scoring (4.5 points per game) and efficiency (38.4% FG, 32.7% 3PT) dropping in August and September. She averaged 7.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in the Fever's first-round series loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
"I don't know what the offseason holds. I don't know. A lot of us are under free agency now and so who knows? ... One day when we look back at this season, we're going to be proud of what we did in the months of July and August," Cunningham said during an Oct. 5 episode of her "No Hesitation" podcast. "I'm annoyed by my 3-point percentage though. That should have been higher."
Cunningham has averaged 42.4% form the 3-point line across two seasons in Indiana. "I do think it's like who's around you and the type of offense. And so I'm definitely going to give credit to the people around me here in Indiana," she added of her effectiveness from deep. But Cunningham said her defensive intensity can improve, an area she plans to work on in the offseason to become a 3-and-D player.
"There's areas we could all improve on offense, but I think our main focus would be defensively," Clark said during her exit interview. "How can we construct a roster that's going to give us a chance to be successful on the defensive side of the ball and then all of us individually becoming better defenders?"
Will Sophie Cunningham's off-court candor be a factor?
The arrival of Caitlin Clark has helped the WNBA reach viewership and attendance records, but the heightened attention has been mixed. "Obviously there is such a microscope on me and that kind of comes with everybody else that I've been teammates with," Clark said during her exit interview.
Kelsey Mitchell opened up about the scrutiny she's been subjected to in recent years.
"If I show y’all my (direct messages) about the hate and all the stuff that comes with being a professional athlete, but specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player, it's a lot that goes into that," Mitchell said in her exit interview. "Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard. I don't think people understand that."
The constant noise surrounding the Fever organization reached a crescendo this season after Cunningham joined a national conversation about transgender athlete inclusion. The WNBA veteran made comments in a July ESPN story about "protecting women's sports" by banning transgender girls and women from participating in girls' and women's sports. The interview led to demonstrations outside Fever games and sparked questions the WNBA's policy regarding transgender athletes. In response, Cunningham asked for the focus on the WNBA to return to basketball.
Cox shot down any notion the outside noise would factor into the team's evaluation of Cunningham: "She's an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations. Again, she had a really productive year and we'll see just where things take us."
Sophie Cunningham offseason plans
Cunningham's offseason plans include playing for the women's basketball startup league, Project B, which tips off in January with stops in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Cunningham's Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell also joined the league, founded by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice.
"It's going to be awesome. I'll do that in January all the way up to April until training camp. And so we're going to a couple countries," Cunningham said on Oct. 5. "Getting to globally expand my brand, which is going to be super cool, but I'm still able to come back here and make my money and enjoy the off season as well."
Project B, which is slated to run from January 2026 to April 2027, will be made up of six teams of 11 players and played on a traveling circuit, similar to other sports like tennis and golf.
Sophie Cunningham contract details
Cunningham is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after playing out a one-year, $665,000 contract with the Indiana Fever for the 2026 season. The veteran guard previously expressed frustration over only signing a one-year deal with Indiana after tearing the MCL in her right knee late in the 2025 season.
"I’m not mad about the money…. I just wanted more years because I love it here," Cunningham wrote in April. "I wanted to get a house so I could bring my dog and donkey to Indy with me. That’s it. That’s the truth. I think we have something very special here in Indiana!!"
She played six seasons for the Phoenix Mercury before coming to the Fever in 2025. Her career earnings are $1,337,780, according to Spotrac.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophie Cunningham's free agency puts Fever at offseason crossroads
