Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is deep into her offseason work as she continues the road back from a season-ending knee injury, and a recent video of her on-court session ignited more conversation than she expected.
Cunningham, who tore her medial collateral ligament (MCL) late in the 2025 WNBA season and underwent surgery shortly after, was caught up in fresh chatter when footage of her going through recovery drills spread online.
The injury occurred in the second quarter when she slid along the baseline to help on defense when Sun guard Bria Hartley went airborne for a pass and came down awkwardly into Cunningham‘s right leg.
The collision forced her knee inward, and she immediately fell to the floor in pain.
Medical staff assisted her off the court, and subsequent imaging confirmed a torn MCL, ending her season prematurely.
Since then, Cunningham has committed herself to rigorous physical therapy and rehabilitation with an eye toward being ready for the upcoming WNBA campaign.
The guard has been posting glimpses of her recovery on social media, showing both the intensity of her workouts and her playful personality.
Fans have seen her handling drills, strengthening exercises, and other recovery, focused activities, all aimed at regaining full mobility and confidence in her movements.
Reactions to Cunningham‘s recovery training
A recent training clip featuring Cunningham‘s offseason work with NBA trainer Coach P gained traction on X.
Shared by Hoop Herald, the short video showed her taking part in controlled ball-handling drills, accompanied by praise for her movement and control.
But the crowd reaction wasn’t universally supportive, with some critics dismissing the drill as too simple for a professional athlete.
Cunningham herself weighed in on the chatter. When reposting the video, she replied with a pointed comment that mixed self-deprecation with frustration: “damn, can yall not let a girl warmup…. hahaha already bustin my balls.”
Surgeons repaired the ligament soon after the initial injury, and Cunningham began a structured rehabilitation process that sees her progressively regain strength, agility and confidence on the court.
Physically and mentally, rehabbing an injury of this magnitude is as taxing as it is slow, particularly for a guard whose role depends on precision ball skills and quick lateral movement.
That timeline, often measured in months rather than weeks, has left some fans eager for more dramatic footage of Cunningham in full flight.
But experts, and players themselves, stress patience during such recoveries.
Ball-handling drills like the one Cunningham posted are often part of the early phases of post-surgical training, helping athletes re-establish coordination and trust in their body before advancing to full-speed scrimmages and contact drills.
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