WNBA Commissioner's Cup

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Presented By Coinbase, is an in-season competition of the Women's National Basketball Association that begins at the start of the regular season and continues throughout the first half of the season. The final is played between the top teams from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. A total of 60 regular-season contests involving all 12 teams count toward the Cup standings.[1]

WNBA Commissioner's Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup
SportBasketball
Founded2020
Organising bodyWomen's National Basketball Association
No. of teams12
CountryUnited States of America
ContinentNorth America
Most recent
champion(s)		New York Liberty
(1st title)
Most titlesSeattle Storm
Las Vegas Aces
New York Liberty
(1 title)

The Commissioner's Cup was originally scheduled to begin in the 2020 WNBA season, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cup was first awarded in the 2021 season.

In October 2021, the WNBA announced that Coinbase had acquired the naming rights to the Cup starting with the 2022 tournament.[2]

Format

The Commissioner's Cup consists of regular-season games, 10 games per team, designated to count toward Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” will then compete for the Commissioner's Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games are the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals.[3] The Cup brings back the Eastern–Western Conference rivalry that WNBA used in its playoff tournament until the 2015 WNBA Playoffs.

The first Commissioner's Cup Final game was held at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.[4]

Prize

The total compensation tops out at $500,000, with the winning team making around $30,000 per player and the game's MVP taking home an additional $5,000. On the losing team's side, players will earn $10,000 each.[5]

The winning team would also receive the Commissioner's Cup Trophy.

History
Year Winner Result Runner-up Cup MVP
2021Seattle Storm79–57 [6]Connecticut SunBreanna Stewart
2022Las Vegas Aces93–83 [7]Chicago SkyChelsea Gray
2023New York Liberty82–63 [8]Las Vegas AcesJonquel Jones

Final appearances

Statistics below refer solely to wins and losses in the final, not to Commissioner's Cup qualifying games.

FinalsTeamWinsLossesPct.Years WonYears Lost
1Seattle Storm101.0002021
1New York Liberty101.0002023
2Las Vegas Aces110.50020222023
1Connecticut Sun01.0002021
1Chicago Sky01.0002022

Cup final records

This table shows a list of records through the history of the Commissioner's Cup final.

Cup records
Milestone Player Team Date Information
Points, individual Kelsey Plum Las Vegas Aces July 26, 2022 24 points
Rebounds, individual A'ja Wilson Las Vegas Aces July 26, 2022 17 rebounds
Assists, individual Courtney Vandersloot New York Liberty August 15, 2023 10 assists
Steals, individual Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 4 steals
Blocks, individual A'ja Wilson Las Vegas Aces July 26, 2022 6 blocks
Points, team N/A Las Vegas Aces July 26, 2022 93 points vs. Chicago
Rebounds, team N/A New York Liberty August 15, 2023 49 rebounds vs. Las Vegas
Assists, team N/A Chicago Sky July 26, 2022 24 assists vs. Las Vegas
Steals, team N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 14 steals vs. Connecticut
Blocks, team N/A Las Vegas Aces July 26, 2022 9 blocks vs. Chicago
Career wins, coach Noelle Quinn
Becky Hammon
Sandy Brondello		 Seattle Storm
Las Vegas Aces
New York Liberty		 2021
2022
2023		 1 win
Margin of victory N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 22-point win (79–57)
over Connecticut
Attendance, one game N/A Michelob Ultra Arena
Las Vegas Aces (Host City)		 August 15, 2023 8,967

See also

References
  1. Hansen, Mitchell. "WNBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP: WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS, AND WHAT'S ON THE LINE". winsider.com. WInsider. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. "Coinbase & WNBA Announce Multiyear Partnership". WNBA.com (Press release). October 19, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  3. "2020 WNBA Season to Feature Inaugural Commissioner's Cup, Expanded 36-Game Schedule for Teams and More ABC Games". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. "Mercury, Phoenix Suns Arena to host 1st WNBA Commissioner's Cup". arizonasports.com. Arizona Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. Powell, Jackie. "What's at Stake in Groundbreaking WNBA Commissioner's Cup?". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. "Connecticut vs. Seattle Boxscore". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  7. "Las Vegas vs. Chicago Boxscore". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  8. "New York Liberty vs. Las Vegas Aces Boxscore". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
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