Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The WNBA's Commissioner's Cup championship will feature two top teams battling for both financial and charitable stakes this week.
- Each player on the winning team stands to share a substantial prize pool while both clubs have already secured significant donations for their chosen charities.
- Key injuries to star players could dramatically shift the balance in what promises to be a tightly contested matchup.
The WNBA kicked off Commissioner's Cup play in June. This is the league's version of an in-season tournament that started back in 2021. Each team plays the other teams in their respective conference one time. Then, the team with the best record in the Eastern and Western conferences face off for the ultimate crown during the championship matchup. This year, those two teams are the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces.
The Eastern Conference was outright won by the Liberty. They finished Cup play with an undefeated record. The Indiana Fever were in second place, with a 5-1 record. On the other hand, the Western Conference was a much closer battle. Both the Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx finished Cup play with a 6-1 record—the Lynx also had an impressive point differential of 127 through their seven matchups—but because Vegas had won its matchup against Minnesota, they won the tiebreaker. Due to the Liberty's better overall Cup record, they also get to host the matchup.
So that brings us to Tuesday night and a highly anticipated battle between not only our Cup play leaders, but also two squads that currently sit at the top of the WNBA standings. To make these even more interesting, New York and Las Vegas met just one week ago when the Liberty handed the Aces an 87-76 loss. In addition to the prize money and trophy, the Aces could be looking for a bit of revenge.
WNBA's Commissioner's Cup prize money
The team that wins the Commissioner's Cup will take home a $500,000 prize pool to split among the players—the same as last year. If we go based on last year's numbers, that also means the MVP of the game will win an additional $5,000.
In addition to the players' prize pool, this year's Commissioner's Cup focused on giving back to the communities around the league. For each game during Cup play, $3,000 was donated to the winning team's selected charity, while $1,000 was given to the losing team's selected charity.
An additional $10,000 will be donated to the selected charity of the championship winner, with $5,000 going to the losing team's charity.
Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty charities
The Aces' selected charity is the Public Education Foundation. This organization, located in southern Nevada, is dedicated to advancing public education for students, parents and educators. They've provided scholarships, resources and support programs. Through Cup play, the Aces have earned $19,000 to be donated to the Public Education Foundation. They could increase that number to $29,000 with a win, or $24,000 with a loss.
The Liberty's selected charity is the African American Policy Forum. This organization works to bring leaders, like activists and policymakers, together to work against structural inequality. Both this organization and the Liberty have "spent decades advancing visibility, justice, and leadership for Black women," with a common goal of staying committed to meaningful change. Through Cup play, the Liberty have earned $18,000 to be donated to the African American Policy Forum. They could increase that number to $28,000 with a win, or $23,000 with a loss.
Commissioner's Cup history
Since this in-season tournament first kicked off in 2021, it's brought loads of excitement to the league. It allows fans and teams alike to get a little competitive early on in the year. It also gives us an early look into which teams are serious contenders. While some might think winning the Commissioner's Cup is a jinx—only one team has won both the Cup Championship and WNBA Championship in the same year—there's no doubt that the money and charity aspect are a little enticing. It's also worth noting that a couple of these Cup matchups have been previews of the WNBA Finals matchup later that same year.
Here's every Commissioner's Cup champion to date.
YEAR | WINNER | RUNNER-UP | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | Indiana Fever | Minnesota Lynx | Natasha Howard |
2024 | Minnesota Lynx | New York Liberty | Napheesa Collier |
2023 | New York Liberty | Las Vegas Aces | Jonquel Jones |
2022 | Las Vegas Aces | Chicago Sky | Chelsea Gray |
2021 | Seattle Storm | Connecticut Sun | Breanna Stewart |
Liberty vs. Aces injury reports include stars
Unfortunately, there are some big names out of the Commissioner's Cup Championship due to injury. Four-time MVP and this season's current leading scorer, A'ja Wilson, will be out of the matchup as she recovers from a right leg injury. During the Aces' most recent matchup, Wilson landed awkwardly and rolled her right ankle. She went to the locker room briefly before returning to the court and finishing out the game. I can imagine that winning the Cup championship was not as much of a priority for the Aces, who have hopes of taking home another WNBA Finals trophy this season, as letting Wilson heal and limit the risk of her injuring herself further.
Nonetheless, this will put a bit of a damper on Las Vegas. During their loss to the Liberty a week ago, Wilson put up 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. The Aces will need a dominant night from some of their other frontcourt players, like Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Nalyssa Smith and Stephanie Talbot.
The Liberty will be without one of their stars, Satou Sabally. She has been unavailable and in concussion protocol for the last two games after taking contact to the face during the Liberty's matchup with the Aces last Tuesday. She is averaging 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season. Even with Sabally unavailable, expect the Liberty's other starting bigs, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, to take advantage of a Wilson-less paint.
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