Sophie Cunningham forced ESPN commentators into an amusing reaction at Friday's WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge after her profane exclamation was caught live on the broadcast.
The Mercury guard missed an elbow jumper and could be heard on ESPN's TV broadcast shouting "Oh my ----." Among the commentary crew, former All-Star Rebecca Lobo expressed audible shock while play-by-play analyst Ryan Ruocco added wryly "I think Sophie was upset with herself."
Cunningham was among five WNBA players selected for the skills challenge on Friday evening, an event that asked players to complete three passes through installed rings and convert shots from three locations on the floor before racing back to the starting point for a layup. The veteran's outburst reflected the competitive nature of the competition, as Cunningham secured passage into the final round by just .2 seconds.
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It was her second notable miss from that left-jumper position. In practice, she was captured on video by the Mercury social team clattering an attempt off the backcourt with the sarcastic caption, "Sophie Cunningham has ARRIVED to the Skills Challenge." She was selected for Friday's event despite taking on a lesser role in Phoenix this season, coming off the bench to shoot better than 39 percent from 3 while maintaining better than a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"Honestly, I just kind of just got a call," Cunningham told NBCSports' Natalie Esquire on Thursday. "I thought it was going to be the 3-point competition which I think is way more up my alley, but we'll take it. Me and BG [ Brittney Griner ] thought we were actually going to be doing it together so we agreed on it, but it's separate. But you know, why not? It's going to be fun, there's going to be a lot of X-factor people there, so I'm excited."
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Ultimately, the Missouri grad fell short in the final round to Atlanta's Allisha Gray and missed out on the $50,000 prize offered by Aflac to the winners of each contest Friday night, a sum that would equate to 1/3 of her current annual salary. Gray then doubled her winnings later this evening in the 3-point contest, besting Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Jonquel Jones, Marina Mabrey, and Kayla McBride in the competition.
Notably, the Dream's leading scorer avoided the transcendent shooting talent of Caitlin Clark , who cited fatigue as the main factor in her decision to decline an invitation. "Just taking time for myself I think is really important," Clark told Esquire. "I've played basketball for a year straight and there will be plenty of other opportunities for me to do things like that."
Reigning champion Sabrina Ionescu also skipped the vent, saying she wanted to focus on preparation for the Olympics.
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