Michael Porter Jr. sparked controversy by claiming that a team of elite eighth-grade boys could defeat WNBA All-Stars. The controversy got amped up a bit when WNBA star Sophie Cunningham seemingly agreed.
Porter, drawing from his own experience scrimmaging against Cunningham’s University of Missouri team during his middle school years, raised eyebrows with his comments.
“I’m probably going with 8th grade because I have real experience doing this. I played my sisters,” Porter said in a segment for Lonzo Ball‘s podcast “Ball in the Family.”
“They played at the University of Missouri, and I was still a young kid. They had me playing on the scout team, and they had a few WNBA players on their team, like Sophie Cunningham and a couple others,” he added. “I was in 7th or 8th grade, going crazy.”
Lonzo agreed.
“I mean this as respectfully as possible, but 9th-grade Lonzo Ball in the WNBA is going crazy,” he said.
“In 9th grade, I was over six feet and dunking. I’m coming through the lane. No girl in the WNBA is doing that. I’m going backdoor, throwing it up, looking like Jordan out there.”
Michael Porter Jr. says people need to stop comparing WNBA players to men — and claims he would've dominated the WNBA back in 8th grade 😅🏀
— motivational vibes (@Usamaawan179981) November 20, 2025
He explained that he used to scrimmage against his sisters at Mizzou — plus WNBA players like Sophie Cunningham — and was “going crazy” as… pic.twitter.com/MIhEdAIrJS
Sophie Cunningham agrees
Porter and Ball received massive pushback from WNBA fans and those who somehow hold the misguided notion that male and female athletes are equal in any and all circumstances.
Sophie Cunningham wasn’t one of them, however.
“I mean, it’s probably true,” Cunningham responded on her own podcast. “I think, if you are a professional [athlete], if you’re in that elite level group, yeah, you should be able to beat the girls! I’m not surprised by that.”
“I don’t get why it’s continuing to get brought up. If women are saying, ‘yeah, he couldn’t beat us.’ Yes, he could,” she insisted. “Any NBA star or player can beat a female in high school. The context of it is fair.”
Sophie Cunningham, who Michael Porter Jr. claims he beat in a Mizzou basketball practice in 8th grade, reacted to MPJ’s recent comments:
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) November 23, 2025
“I mean, it’s probably true. I think, if you are a professional [athlete], if you’re in that elite level group, yea you should be able to… pic.twitter.com/pVbrxyYShV
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It’s probably true
Sophie Cunninham’s comments aren’t going to score her any points with the woke crowd, or even some women in her own league who really, really want to convince fans that the quality of play in the WNBA is on par with their male counterparts.
Though we have a hunch Sophie doesn’t care.
You don’t have to look very hard for evidence of what Porter, Ball, and Cunningham are saying. Does anybody remember the time an under-15 boys soccer team from Dallas defeated the U.S. women’s national team?
And it wasn’t even close.
The Indiana Fever star, meanwhile, served as the honorary pace car driver at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race recently.
During the event, Cunningham posed for a photo with actress Sydney Sweeney, who was there to promote her upcoming film Christy. Sweeney, known for her glamorous red carpet appearances, brought out the checkered flag at the race.
Cunningham shared the photo on social media, captioning it with a spicy, off-color joke.
“One of us forgot our t—s at home,” she joked.