Sophie Cunningham has never been shy about a hot take, and she just dropped two of them in one sitting - calling the WNBA's All-Star 3-point contest selection "political" while revealing a genuinely surprising Dancing with the Stars preference that has fans talking. Get Sports Journals breaks down both bombshells, what they really mean, and why Cunningham is becoming one of the league's sharpest off-court voices. This is the Sophie Cunningham calls WNBA 3-point contest 'political' while revealing surprising Dancing with the Stars preference story you need to read today.
Cunningham didn't mince words. Asked about the All-Star weekend 3-point contest, she labeled the selection process "political" - a blunt assessment that instantly lit up basketball group chats and social timelines. Plenty of players have questioned how event fields get picked over the years. Cunningham just said the quiet part out loud.
For the uninitiated: WNBA All-Star event rosters - including the 3-point contest - aren't purely a meritocracy sorted by shooting percentage. Invitations come through a mix of league selection, team nominations, scheduling logistics, and, yes, star power. Players have periodically pushed back on both format and selection over the years, and Cunningham's comment adds a fresh, candid chapter to that pattern. The league, per its All-Star event procedures, handles much of this behind closed doors - which is precisely the friction point.
What did she actually say? The full quote and setting deserve to be read in context, so before you run with the headline, pull the original interview from WNBA.com, ESPN, or the team's beat coverage and read every word. What we can say with confidence, based on her track record: Cunningham has consistently spoken candidly about the league's visibility and marketing - she's never been the type to sand off her opinions for a press gaggle.
Why it matters: the 3-point contest is a brand-building platform. A national broadcast slot, highlight-reel currency, and sponsor eyeballs. If players feel the field is decided by factors other than pure shooting merit, that's a transparency problem - and transparency problems go viral.
> 📊 The 3-point contest is one of WNBA All-Star weekend's signature events - a showcase that doubles as a marketing launchpad for participants.
What "Political" Might Really Mean
Break it down into layers. Camp ties - who shares an agent, a training home, a brand. Market size - a big-market player may draw a bigger TV number than a small-market sniper. Marketing pull and sponsor influence - the league wants names casual fans recognize. Weighed against pure shooting merit, those forces can feel like a rigged game to competitors who live in the gym.
The fan angle is already buzzing. Social media reaction splits predictably - some cheering Cunningham for candor, others noting that All-Star events are entertainment products by design. Whether the league responds publicly is an open question; historically it has preferred to let event formats speak for themselves.
> 📊 Event fields are assembled through a blend of league selection and team input - not a simple shooting-percentage leaderboard - per WNBA All-Star event procedures.
Cunningham's Surprising DWTS Preference: The Reveal
Then came the twist. In the same interview, Cunningham revealed her unexpected Dancing with the Stars preference - an answer so off-script it instantly became the clip fans shared. Anchor it to the original source: this is her stated wish-list preference, not casting news. The only real confirmation of a DWTS booking comes from ABC/Disney press releases, full stop.
Why do WNBA players keep surfacing in DWTS casting chatter? Easy. Height and wingspan make for dramatic lines and lifts. Footwork is literally the job. And competitiveness - these are athletes who will obsess over a cha-cha until 2 a.m. It's a narrative hook producers dream about.
Consider her personality fit for the format: the rehearsal grind suits a gym rat, live-show pressure is basically a road game, and the fan-vote dynamic rewards exactly the kind of unfiltered personality that made this interview headline-worthy.
