Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham did not mince her words when talking about how the franchise's popularity has effectively turned them into the most hated team in the WNBA.

The Fever is the only franchise in the league to have all 44 of its games nationally televised, with 39 of them being in NBA-sized arenas.

In the latest episode of her podcast Show Me Something, Cunningham addressed that having such an impact on the league automatically turns you into an enemy in front of the other 14 teams in the WNBA.

“First of all, we are circled on everyone’s roster, right? Or like everyone’s game schedule, we are the one circled. We are the only team that has all nationally televised games,” Cunningham said. “People hate us, and I get that. I hate other teams, too.”

While the league's overall visibility has been on the rise, there is a clear difference between the Fever and the rest of the teams in terms of fame.

This year, the league has a record of 216 games telecast nationally under its new 11-year, $3.1 billion media rights deal. Apart from the Fever, no other team has all its games nationally televised.

The team closest to them is Paige Bueckers' Dallas Wings with 36 games. Meanwhile, defending champions A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces only have 33 games under the spotlight.

The Fever also consistently attains the highest average viewership in the league, while maintaining a healthy average attendance of 15,867.67, the third highest in the league.

The Fever's successes are much in thanks to their franchise player, Caitlin Clark, who herself is competing with NBA stars after her No. 22 jersey outsold the likes of LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and even Michael Jordan.

While the Fever is undisputedly the No. 1 franchise off the court, they have been pretty inconsistent on the court, but Cunningham has found a silver lining to the Fever's early-season troubles.

Sophie Cunningham Acknowledges Early Season Struggles But Finds Silver Lining

The Fever dominated Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream 83-71 in the ongoing Commissioner's Cup. After the game, Cunningham was seen shouting, "It's about d*** time!"

It was more relief mixed with actual excitement, as the Fever were coming off two straight losses before the game against the Dream.

While it was a convincing victory, the Fever is still 5-4 for the season, which is quite underwhelming considering the amount of talent in the squad. But Cunningham is optimistic about the season and would rather face difficulty now than later on.

“I’d much rather be going through the trenches right now than in September and October. It’s part of the season,” Cunningham said. “Everything we do is just highlighted on a microscope. Everyone’s watching every little thing we do."

Every team indeed has its ups and downs. Last year, the Aces started poorly and ended up winning the championship.

With the win against the Dream, the Fever now has a good opportunity to defend their Commissioner's Cup title and gain momentum for the rest of the season. They face the New York Liberty on Saturday night.

So, do you think the Indiana Fever will be one of the first teams to qualify for the playoffs this season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Joy Bassy