Are the Fever cursed? Sophie Cunningham shares wild theory that explains run of injuries

Are the Fever cursed? Sophie Cunningham shares wild theory that explains run of injuries originally appeared on The Sporting News

All WNBA teams suffer injuries -- some more than others. In the 2025 season, more than 200 injuries have been chronicled as the league powers through its longest season on record at 44 games.

But no team has suffered worse injury luck than the Indiana Fever, which entered the season as a dark-horse championship contender but could end the season struggling to meet the WNBA's minimum requirement of having eight players dressed for a game.

Following season-ending injuries to guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald, Sophie Cunningham on Tuesday was ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season with an MCL tear in her right knee. In addition, Caitlin Clark has missed more than a month with a right groin strain, and her status for the rest of the season remains in jeopardy.

MORE: Sophie Cunningham MRI results reveal severity of Fever star's knee injury

As results have gone against the Fever in recent days, Cunningham believes Indiana may well be cursed on the injury front. On her "Show Me Something" podcast, Cunningham explained that the Fever's players -- including her -- keep getting injured after they've celebrated their birthdays.

"Sydney has her birthday (on August 6), the next day we played she completely tore her ACL and everything," Cunningham said. "It was my birthday (on August 16), we played the next day and then I hurt my knee. And we still have a couple more birthdays on our team…do they play?”

The next birthday on the Fever belongs to Natasha Howard, a three-time WNBA champion who has been a key cog in the Indiana frontcourt. Howard turns 34 on Sept. 2, when the Fever visit the Phoenix Mercury. Guard Lexie Hull turns 26 on Sept. 13, the day before the playoffs begin.

Indiana remains sixth in the WNBA standings with a 19-16 record, but just 2.5 games separate the Fever from ninth place. In a season where little has gone to plan for the Fever, Indiana at least can still achieve its primary goal of returning to the playoffs -- though the roster is going to look much different than envisioned back in May.

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