Sophie Cunningham is perhaps at the pinnacle of her professional basketball stardom. The Indiana Fever star's journey, which started over a decade ago in Missouri, would never have reached WNBA stardom had it not been for her father, Jim, who was also her first mentor.

Sophie comes from a family of elite athletes. Her mother, aunt and uncle were student-athletes at the University of Missouri, and so was her father, Jim Cunningham. He played football at the program. When Cunningham was growing up, he became her first mentor.

On Sunday, June 21, Cunningham made a tribute post on her social media on Father's Day. Her Instagram Story featured a picture of her dad with Cunningham's message.

"To the best, I love you," she wrote in the caption.

Jim and his wife became referees for Sophie and her sister Lindsey's childhood games, a hands-on role that shaped Sophie's early development.

While Jim remains her biggest supporter, he also calls out the mistakes that his daughter commits on the court. During a game at Mizzou, even when Cunningham had an excellent game, Jim was not happy with a bad play his daughter made.

"Dangit, Sophie!" Jim said.

A professor sitting near him tried to defend Cunningham when he had to clarify by saying, "It’s OK, that’s my daughter." But the stories of the beautiful bond of this father-daughter duo don’t end here...

Sophie Cunningham had a special birthday gift idea for her dad

Last November, Sophie Cunningham celebrated her father’s 69th birthday. The Fever star wanted to make the birthday extra special for her father and asked for fans’ assistance in finding the perfect gift for her dad. 

In a social media post, Cunningham said that she was looking for a miniature donkey as a gift for her father. 

"Okay, so my dad's birthday is coming up. And we have like donkeys, mules, horses. But dad has always wanted miniature donkeys…and we wanna get him a couple of miniature donkeys for his 69th birthday party." Sophie clarified it, saying, "For pets. Like that is his gift."

The WNBA star urged her fans and followers in Missouri and the Midwest area to help her get the perfect gift for Jim.

“We want spotted or brown ones. I am not kidding. Please DM me. We are looking for them, and his birthday is on December 5th. So it is coming up. Thanks!"

In February this year, Cunningham revealed that she was able to get a miniature donkey for her dad, and his name was Kevin. She also said that he was not "very thrilled about it first" because he was very surprised.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi