Does Sophie Cunningham have a sister? This story explains a lot about the WNBA star
Sophie was not the first player in her family to stand out. Before her came Lindsey, her older sister, with whom she shared a court and a passion that began long before reaching college.
Long before making it to the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham had a rival very close to home. Her older sister, Lindse y, also played basketball and ended up becoming one of the most important people in her development.
The WNBA star is now one of the recognizable faces of American women’s basketball; however, there was one key person in her life who was there long before the spotlight appeared: Lindsey, her older sister.
Sophie's first rival was at home
Sophie Cunningham didn’t reach elite basketball alone. Before becoming one of the most recognized figures in Missouri women’s basketball and later making the jump to the WNBA, she had a fundamental role model at home: her older sister, Lindsey Cunningham Hudson.
They both grew up in Columbia, Missouri, in a family deeply connected to sports and the University of Missouri . Mizzou itself identifies Lindsey as Sophie’s older sister and notes that both played basketball for the Tigers . They are the daughters of Jim and Paula Cunningham , two former Mizzou athletes. Jim played football for the Tigers , while Paula competed in track and field. The family’s sporting tradition went even beyond their parents: other members of the Cunningham family also had athletic ties to Missouri.
Sophie grew up in an environment where sports were part of everyday life, something that helped fuel her enormous competitiveness from a very young age. She and her sister, who is two years older, especially stood out in basketball and soccer.
The two sisters ended up sharing a locker room on the University of Missouri team. When Sophie arrived in 2015, Lindsey was already in the program, and they overlapped for two seasons, 2015–2016.
Lindsey played 129 games during her college career and in her final season she was an important part of the team, serving as captain, while Sophie was beginning to build a career that would end up making her one of the greatest players in the program's history.
For Sophie , however, her sister's numbers were almost secondary. What mattered was that Lindsey had already traveled the path she wanted to follow. She watched her train, compete, and face situations that she too would later have to face.
The present day of Lindsey Cunningham
The older sister of the current WNBA star retired from competitive basketball after finishing her college career. She then remained involved in the sport in other areas, including coaching, although she would later distance herself completely from the activity.
Her path ended up being different from Sophie's, who kept moving forward until she reached the highest level of women's basketball in the world, the WNBA . However, the connection with Missouri remained an important part of her sports story.
Today Sophie is the one taking center stage and competing in the WNBA, while Lindsey chose to step away from professional basketball. However, before the big games arrived and the spotlight shone on the younger of the Cunningham sisters, there was an older sister who had already shown her what it was like to chase the same dream.
