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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
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Karl Rasmussen

Donovan Mitchell Responds to Sophie Cunningham Dismissing Cleveland As WNBA City

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham raised eyebrows on Tuesday when she shared her opinion on some of the cities set to join the WNBA in the coming years as part of the league's expansion efforts.

Specifically, Cunningham scoffed at the idea of starting franchises in both Cleveland and Detroit, suggesting there isn't much appeal to those locations compared to other big cities across the country.

Those remarks haven't necessarily been too well received. Among those to issue a response to Cunningham's comments was Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who voiced just how much he loves the city during the warmer months of the year.

Clearly, Mitchell disagrees with Cunningham's blunt assessment of the city he's spent the past three years calling home.

Cunningham's comments come on the heels of the league's announcement that it would be expanding into three new cities—Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland–in the coming years.

Cunningham said that the WNBA choosing locations such as Miami, Nashville and Kansas City would have been preferable.

"I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]," she said Tuesday morning ahead of the Fever's Commisioner's Cup clash with the Minnesota Lynx.

After welcoming the Golden State Valkyries to its ranks in 2025, the WNBA is set to debut its Portland and Toronto franchises in '26, and the aforementioned three cities will enter the fray after that, eventually bringing the league tally to 18 teams.


More WNBA on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Donovan Mitchell Responds to Sophie Cunningham Dismissing Cleveland As WNBA City.

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