Sophie Cunningham’s WNBA Sixth Participant of the Yr case, defined

The Phoenix Mercury are within the midst of an underwhelming season, and Sophie Cunningham — one of many longest-tenured gamers on the roster — hasn’t been shy about calling the workforce out.

“We have to discover ways to be nice teammates,” Cunningham mentioned after the workforce misplaced to the Storm, their fifth loss in six video games. “On the finish of the day, we get to play basketball for a dwelling, in order that’s a blessing. Possibly, altering our views to begin to be a little bit extra grateful can be a very good begin.”

Cunningham was drafted to the Mercury in 2019, and has been with the franchise for everything of her WNBA profession. For the previous two seasons, that’s been in a beginning function. Final season, she averaged 11.3 factors per recreation in 29 minutes.

However this 12 months, she’s incessantly performed so off the bench, averaging 8 factors in 27.7 minutes. Her taking pictures share is barely up from final season to this season (from 41.3% to 42.1%), as is her three-point share (from 33.7% to 36.8%). When she checks in, her mindset is totally different each recreation, relying on what she noticed from the sidelines within the opening minutes.

“For me, it’s not likely about factors, it’s simply sort of actually doing regardless of the workforce wants in that specific recreation,” Cunningham mentioned. “And typically that is factors, typically it’s rebounds, it’s assists, it’s enjoying good protection. I’m simply sort of the X Issue, and I simply sort of do no matter they want.”

In flip, Cunningham is now within the working for Sixth Participant of the Yr. Given the expertise and collective accolades on the roster – Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and Kahleah Copper, to simply identify just a few — coming off the bench can typically really make life simpler.

“Generally it’s sort of good coming off the bench, simply because you possibly can see the movement of the sport,” Cunningham mentioned. “Now we have 4 Olympians on our workforce, and so after they’re all out on the court docket, they’re looking for their rhythm fairly early within the recreation. They’re attempting to get theirs. So, typically it’s sort of good, as a result of then you definitely get to go in and sort of be that second punch that the workforce wants – a little bit fiery vitality. Then there’s extra photographs for me to be extra aggressive on the offensive finish.”

Photograph by Kate Frese/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Cunningham’s Sixth Participant of the Yr marketing campaign will probably be hindered by the very fact her workforce has underachieved this season. They at present sit within the seventh seed, and have appeared particularly disjointed for the reason that Olympic break.

However, Cunningham deserves to be within the dialog for Sixth Participant of the Yr as a result of she’s been one of many league most prolific and environment friendly scorers off the bench. Of gamers who’ve come off the bench at the very least 15 instances this season, Cunningham has averaged the second-most factors behind Hayes, 8.4 per recreation. Her taking pictures splits off the bench are additionally phenomenal; in 19 bench outings, she’s shot 49% from the sector, 43.8% from three, and 87.2% from the road.

However even above the on-court stats, Cunningham informed SB Nation that her largest contribution this season has been her management.

“It’s assembly individuals the place they’re at,” she mentioned. “It’s being the glue of the workforce and ensuring that each one these personalities, and typically egos, are all coming collectively, and attempting to create an incredible tradition and an incredible setting for individuals to thrive and achieve success. And so for me, it’s just about off court docket stuff. It’s about constructing chemistry. It’s about constructing rhythm. After which when you will have that, and you’ve got that sort of workforce, naturally issues go fairly properly for these groups on the nook as properly.”

“In order that’s sort of the place my focus is at. I feel we now have plenty of nice gamers on our workforce who – they’re Olympians. They’ve received championships within the W, and so for me, it’s doing the little issues and ensuring that we’re all on the identical web page.”

Over the weekend, Cunningham signed a one-year extension with the Mercury, the group with which she’s spent her whole skilled profession.

“We’re creating a extremely good tradition, and it’s going to be a profitable, successful tradition,” Cunningham mentioned. “We’re going to get a championship again right here in Phoenix in a pair years, I really feel. For me, it’s about that. Our coaches have been completely phenomenal. The group as an entire, particularly our proprietor and our CEO and our GM, they’ve simply handled us like elite degree athletes — and I do know that’s not essentially the case on different groups.”

Within the meantime, she hasn’t spent a lot time fascinated with whether or not she may earn the Sixth Participant of the Yr award, however she acknowledges it’d be an incredible honor.

“I do know there’s been conversations round it. I feel it’d be superior,” she mentioned. “It’s only a testomony to my teammates, the work I’ve put in. However, on the finish of the day, awards and that sort of stuff doesn’t establish me. It’s not the place I put my hope and my success, if I’m a winner or loser, if I get these awards or not.”

Whether or not or not receives the accolade, Cunningham will proceed leaning into the issues which have made her profitable within the WNBA, to this point — starter or not.

“On the finish of the day, my factor is outworking individuals, it’s ensuring that I’m the toughest employee on the ground, that I’ve probably the most vitality, I’m being a dawg for my workforce,” Cunningham mentioned. “And I feel after I do this sort of factor, then the sport naturally simply comes.”

Writer’s observe: This text is a part of a collection diving into the candidates for WNBA Sixth Participant of the Yr. Related tales have been written about Tiffany Hayes of the Las Vegas Aces and Leonie Fiebich of the New York Liberty.