Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray’s celebration after a bucket in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals is widely being misunderstood as a reference to Sophie Cunningham.
Cunningham became one of the most famous players in the WNBA this season on the back of her visibility as Caitlin Clark’s teammate on the Indiana Fever, as well as her outspoken beliefs on trans athletes being excluded from competing in women’s sports.
As Cunningham’s fame has grown, moments from this season, like her pointing at the Phoenix Mercury roster, have become iconic. As a result, Cunningham’s fans have made some embarrassing claims.
Allisha Gray’s ‘Sophie Cunningham’ pose does not pass the fans test
After a clearly engagement-driven post comparing Gray pointing to the basket as the universal symbol of an ‘and-one’ bucket to Cunningham’s pose against the Mercury, WNBA fans quickly jumped in to make sure the truth about this connection is known.
“No, Allisha isn’t even pointing. She’s signalling for a made basket to count after her teammate was fouled. Not the same at all,” clarified one fan.
“This —- is so disrespectful to Allisha,” said a fan who was angry about the comparison.
“Well no, Allisha is actually good at basketball,” said another fan highlighting the steep gulf in quality between Gray and Cunningham on the court.
“Stop trying to make fetch happen. Lisha isn’t trying to be Sophie,” said another fan.
“Channelling SC would be having a QUINTUPLE SINGLE performance,” joked one fan.
Pointing on a WNBA court cannot be termed as someone channelling her inner Sophie Cunningham, and her fans doing the same is a testament to her popularity.
Gray is averaging 14.4 points in the postseason and averaged 19.0 points in the regular season. Cunningham averaged 7.3 points in the 2026 playoffs and 7.9 points in the regular season, playing miles below Gray’s level on the court.
The 30-year-old Cunningham should hope to channel her inner Allisha Gray next season, as she enters the offseason as a free agent while Gray is a lead guard on a potential WNBA Championship-winning squad.
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