CLEVELAND, Ohio — The WNBA is officially coming back to Cleveland, but at least one player wasn’t thrilled about the notion.
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the news of Cleveland and Detroit being part of the league’s expansion in the years to come.
“I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland),” said Cunningham, who mistakenly said Cincinnati instead of Cleveland.
The quote went viral with plenty of responses from Cleveland sports social media. Among those who responded was Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, who came to Cleveland via trade from Utah in 2022.
He responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, by quoting her post and writing, "Cleveland in the summertime," with a pair of fire emojis.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert also had a response for Cunningham on social media.
"Come on Sophie, obviously you haven’t been to Detroit or Cleveland… you should support your Midwest sisters in this league and these two great cities that you’re going to come to know and love very shortly," Gilbert posted.
It’s also worth mentioning that Cunningham’s Fever teammate, Caitlin Clark, had plenty of great things to say about Cleveland when her Iowa team played in the Women’s Final Four at Rocket Arena in 2024.
Cleveland will be the 16th team in the WNBA when its expansion team begins play in 2028. This, of course, will not be the first WNBA franchise the city has had.
The Cleveland Rockers were one of the first eight teams in the WNBA when the league launched in 1997. However, the franchise folded in 2003 when Gordon Gund, who owned the Cavs at that time, could not find a new owner for the Rockers.
Cleveland is also part of a large expansion for the WNBA. The league’s newest team, the Golden State Valkyries, are in the midst of their expansion season. Toronto and Portland will each begin play in 2026, followed by Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.
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