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Guard Sophie Cunningham on Fever roster ‘It’s turning heads’
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham discusses how good the roster is.
The Fever are in a much different draft position than years past. In 2025, the top pick Indiana has is No. 19, well into the second round.WNBA draft, 7:30 p.m., Monday; TV: ESPNFever hold picks Nos. 19, 20 and 33
INDIANAPOLIS — One of the biggest nights in the WNBA calendar is Monday, and for the first time in a long while, the Indiana Fever don’t have much of a stake in it.
Indiana’s top position in the 2025 WNBA draft Monday night (barring an unforeseen trade) will be the No. 19 pick, well into the second round. The Fever also hold the No. 20 and No. 33 picks. It will mark the first time since 2017 the Fever do not have a top-4 lottery pick.
The Fever’s highest pick being in the mid-second round, too, means there’s a lot more variability in which players will be available for general manager Amber Cox and president Kelly Krauskopf to choose from.
“You think about best available,” Cox said of the Fever’s draft position during a media availability last month. “You’re kind of at the mercy of what every other team is going to do, so you really build out your board and say, ‘This is our list, and what happens on draft night happens on draft night,’ and you get the best available in here.”
It’s a new situation for the Fever, but a welcomed change. Indiana missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons from 2017-23, leading to lottery residency. While those high picks looked good on paper, it didn’t always translate to success on the court. That is, until the Fever won two straight No. 1 picks in 2023 and ‘24.
With Aliyah Boston, the 2023 No. 1 pick, and Caitlin Clark, the 2024 top pick, on the floor together with 2018 No. 2 pick Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever’s fortunes finally changed. Indiana made the playoffs in 2024 after that record drought, finishing the season with a 20-20 record and the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
That sixth-place finish in the regular season originally gave Indiana the No. 8 pick in the 2025 draft. But Indiana isn’t relying on the draft for talent nearly as much as it has in the past.
Indiana gave up the No. 8 pick as part of a four-team trade which saw that pick go to Connecticut and the Fever’s 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith head to Dallas. In exchange, the Fever received Sophie Cunningham from Phoenix and Jaelyn Brown from Dallas.
With seven new pieces already on the roster, Indiana opted to rebuild their roster through free agency rather than draft pieces. Indiana signed three-time WNBA champion Natasha Howard, all-time playoff game appearance leader DeWanna Bonner, and two-time champion Sydney Colson in hopes of bringing experience to what was a young roster.
The draft, Cox said, will finalize that training camp roster.
“We will have a lot of new pieces, new coaching staff, so getting reps for this group is going to be really, really important,” Cox said. “But we’re really focused on the draft… to sort of finalize what the roster’s going to look like as we get to training camp.”
The roster has 12 players, and Indiana will add at least three more through the draft for a total of 15 to start training camp. Indiana will need to get back down to 12 players max by the start of the season, but the team will likely carry 11 to start the 2025 campaign because of salary cap restrictions.
With 10 players signed to season contracts and a $106,000 buyout for former Fever player Katie Lou Samuelson hitting the cap this season, Indiana only has about $112,000 for the final two spots on its roster, per Her Hoop Stats.
The minimum for players 0-2 years of experience is $66,079, per Her Hoop Stats, so Indiana can only afford to carry 11 players on the roster to start the season unless it opts to release someone with a larger contract (which is unlikely). The Fever will be able to sign a 12th player once they can afford the prorated minimum, which decreases based on how many games remain throughout the season.
Indiana also already has two players on training camp contracts: Brown and forward Jillian Alleyne, both of whom already have WNBA experience. Those two will join the three draftees in competing for the 11th and final spot, making it an uphill climb for the rookies to make it on the opening day roster.
Still, anything can happen in the WNBA. And a lot of it comes down to attitude and culture fit.
“We want people who are gonna come in here and compete for a final spot, want to be part of what we’re doing, are willing to play whatever role we ask them,” Cox said. “So it’s multifaceted, certainly we’re looking at what they can do on the court, but we’re talking to those individuals as well and making sure it’s a good fit culturally.”
