The Indiana Fever want Sophie Cunningham to receive recognition for her 2026 season. Indiana is playoff-bound behind an explosive offense scoring a league-best 96.6 points per game. The Fever are pushing to turn that success into individual accolades, backing Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell in the MVP race, Aliyah Boston for an All-WNBA nod, and Makayla Timpson to win Most Improved Player.
They also advocated for Cunningham by posting a 30-second hype video on social media with the message, "Sophie Cunningham for 6th Player of the Year." Cunningham has played a pivotal role off Indiana's bench, averaging 8.4 points per game with a career-best 47.6 field-goal percentage and 44.1% conversion rate from 3-point range. She boasts a WNBA-leading 131.6 offensive rating and the second-best effective field-goal percentage (62.9). As a result, the eight-year pro has a career-best 2.9 win shares.
Cunningham is nevertheless unlikely to land Sixth Person of the Year honors. Janelle Salaun is favored to win the award, averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Golden State Valkyries. While the 24-year-old forward hasn't matched Cunningham's shooting efficiency, Salaun also plays strong defense for a team second in the WNBA standings in the expansion franchise's second season.
The Fever probably won't get their wish with Cunningham beating out Salaun, and Clark and Mitchell dethroning A'ja Wilson as co-MVPs may be even less likely. Boston still supported both campaigns on her Instagram stories, captioning the team's Cunningham post with "3's up" and declaring "duh no doubt" to Indiana's MVP candidates. Those Fever stars can make their case when playing the Connecticut Sun on Friday, their final game before the FIBA World Cup break.
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