Sophie Cunningham Jokes Caitlin Clark Is the WNBA’s Taylor Swift

Sophie Cunningham is entering her seventh season in the WNBA and her first as a member of the revamped Indiana Fever, the team led by young phenom Caitlin Clark.

Clark’s impact on the WNBA — and basketball in general — has been well documented. But now that Indiana is in position to challenge for a championship, Cunningham, 28, sees an opportunity to help her elevate the game even more.

She joked about her role in a February appearance on the “Sports and SHEnanigans” podcast, saying she would happily be the Sabrina Carpenter to Clark’s Taylor Swift. Speaking to Us Weekly as part of her partnership with Quest Nutrition, she clarified that the comparison was a joke, but her point holds true.

“It really was a joke,” she told Us. “I think that Taylor Swift has helped Sabrina Carpenter so much, and I think that Caitlin Clark has helped not only her teammates, but our whole league, our whole sport in general, not only here in America, but around the world.”

Swift, 35, took on Carpenter, 25, as a teammate on her famed Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024. Similar to Cunningham being a WNBA veteran, Carpenter was already a star before that — but teaming up with Swift catapulted her into a new stratosphere of fame.

“To me, it’s not about competition,” Cunningham continued. “I’m all about empowering other women. I’m about helping my teammates be their best selves. I’m all about being my best self. And I just feel like that if we can do that together, then great things are gonna happen.”

As a veteran, Cunningham knows that means letting Clark, 23, showcase her skills and being there to drain a big bucket when needed.

“I’m gonna let her be the star that she is, and she totally deserves it. If she needs me in the corner when I have a wide open three, then I’ll be there to support her,” she said. “I really am excited to get up there and play with her, play with Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, you have DeWanna Bonner, you have Natasha Howard. Our team is stacked. Stacked.”

The Fever will open their season on May 17 against the Chicago Sky in a game that will air on ABC. In the meantime, Cunningham is keeping busy by celebrating March Madness with Quest. While her alma mater, Missouri, is out of both the men’s and women’s tournaments, she’ll host fans at the Quest Bar, a brand takeover of New York City’s famed Stumble Inn sports bar, on Saturday, March 29, for the women’s Sweet 16 and men’s Elite Eight.

“I feel like I have another eight to 10 years in [the WNBA]. I’m starting to really take care of my body and Quest has been a huge part of that,” she said. “I wanna take care of my body, but I also want to enjoy what I’m eating. And so they do that for me.”

With reporting by Daniel Trainor