Sophie Cunningham

Cunningham served mainly as a starter for the Mercury in 2022, and 2023 marked the first season in which she operated exclusively in a starting role. Her scoring and rebounding marks declined slightly from the 2022 campaign, but she was still a serviceable fantasy contributor with 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29.0 minutes per game. Part of her decline can be attributed to her decreased three-point efficiency, as she shot just 33.7 percent from long range in 2023 after converting 40.4 percent of her three-point attempts over the previous two seasons. It wouldn't be surprising to see her improve in that area in 2024, but Brittney Griner intends to re-sign, and the Mercury also added Kahleah Copper, Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen this offseason. Cunningham is a fairly reliable fantasy option due to her scoring and abundance of three-point attempts, but it wouldn't be surprising to see her role remain somewhat stagnant in 2024 as the new-look Mercury attempt to reclaim contender status.

Cunningham stepped into the biggest role of her career last season, averaging 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.5 minutes while starting 20 of her 28 appearances. Her workload shouldn't change much in 2023, as the Mercury were relatively stagnant during the offseason. Cunningham's three-point prowess is her strong suit, with the wing making 2.5 threes per game at a 40.0 percent. clip. Fantasy managers in need of a long-range shooter with a safe role can turn to Cunningham, and it's possible she takes a meaningful step forward during her age-27 season.

Cunningham played an important bench role in the Phoenix backcourt last season, averaging 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while posting career-best marks from the field (43.7 percent) and beyond the arc (41.0 percent) over 17.5 minutes per game. With Kia Nurse (knee) likely sidelined for much of 2022, Cunningham should again be in line for a healthy role as a backup guard. The Mercury did get busy in the offseason to shore up their depth by adding Tina Charles and Diamond DeShields, but they could also be without Brittney Griner for part or all of the season, leaving some minutes on the table.