The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, an in-season competition launched in 2021, will have a new format for the 2024 season.
The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, an in-season competition launched in 2021, will have a new format for the 2024 season. Instead of 10 games counting toward selection into the tournament, teams will each play just five games during the two-week period from June 1-13, one against each of its in-conference rivals.
“After crowning three Commissioner’s Cup champions since 2021, we believe it is time to introduce a new, streamlined format for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “The newly designed, concentrated structure for this in-season tournament adds an increased sense of urgency and excitement as we place a particular spotlight on Eastern and Western Conference Commissioner’s Cup play in a two-week window near the tip off of our regular season. The focus is on making the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase even more engaging for all our stakeholders, including fans, teams, players and the community organizations that collaborate with our teams during the designated games.”
Mark your calendars. The fourth annual Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase returns with an all-new format!
The inaugural Commissioner’s Cup was won by the Seattle Storm in 2021 (Breanna Stewart, MVP). The Las Vegas Aces won in 2022 (Chelsea Gray, MVP). This past season, the New York Liberty (Jonquel Jones, MVP) took home the Commissioner’s Cup.
The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the Commissioner’s Cup championship. The championship game will be played on June 25 at the arena of the team with the best record in Cup play.
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What’s good, family? It’s Sykes, once again, here with another edition of Layup Lines. A quick word on the potential of a midseason tournament for the NBA.
There seems to be a legitimate possibility that the NBA finally adds a much-discussed midseason tournament to its regular season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The NBA and NBA Player’s Association are still in discussions for the meat and potatoes of it, but the framework seems to have been decided. Here are the details:
The tournament games will play through November with all 30 teams participating.
8 Teams will make a single-elimination final in December while the other 22 teams continue their regular schedule.
All games included will be part of the regular 82-game schedule with one extra game for the two finalist teams at the end.
If all goes well, this would reportedly start as soon as the 2023-24 NBA season. Essentially, we’re one season away from a midseason tournament.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. This is a little too weird, right? What’s the point? Nobody asked for a midseason tournament — just for the regular season to be shorter.
I totally get all that. But hear me out — this isn’t a bad idea!
The thing about regular season games is that they haven’t felt like they’ve actually mattered as much for years. The season is too long and there are too many games that feel like they come with no stakes.
This tournament adds stakes. It gives us drama. The players will have some incentive to play in this thing and there are a ton of possibilities as far as what that incentive could be.
Maybe it’s a locked in playoff spot or maybe it’s an extra $10 million in cash for the winning team to distribute. There will be some opportnuity of value attached to this and that’ll make it interesting.
If you’re skeptical, look no further than the WNBA. Last season the league institutded the Commissioner’s Cup as their midseason tournament and the results have been fantastic. The games are competitive, fun and the winning team gets a bonus check in the end which is great for their pockets.
“At the beginning of the season, nobody really knew exactly what was on the line,” Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner said on Monday after her team’s practice. “Leading up to it, many players didn’t know what it was and what games counted.”
That’s changed though. The perception is different just two seasons in. It’s fun! Players enjoy it. The Las Vegas Aces won the cup this year and had a blast with it.
This is the sort of fun and excitement the NBA’s regular season needs. And fans should be here for it. It’s good to see the NBA learning a thing or two from the W here. Let’s hope it continues to push the league forward.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
(Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
But what was most interesting to me was the advice he gave to his son, Shareef O’Neal, as he begins his NBA journey. It just seemed to sweet.
“Man, it was good. I set high standards like what my father set for me. He’s working hard. Of course, being an O’Neal kid, everyone thinks his journey is going to be like mine. But I tell my kids all the time: “I’m an Amazonian that walks through the jungle. I’m crazy. Your path will never be like my path. You’ll have to choose your own path. However you’ll make it, you’ll make it.” He decided to go early. He had a good summer league and he will be in the G League. He still has a chance to fulfill his dream.”
Aces (-5.5, -250) vs. Sun (-+5.5, +200) O/U 169.5, Sept 10 @ 12 Noon ET
Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
The stakes are incredible in these WNBA Finals. Both these teams are seeking redemption after failures on the biggest stage from 2019 and 2020. A’ja Wilson is trying stack that trophy case even more but the Sun really seemed to catch their stride defensively against the Sky. This is going to be tough, but I’m taking a fired up Aces team -5.5 in Game 1.
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Breanna Stewart is the Thanos of basketball. She’s really just out here collecting trophies and accolades like they’re Infinity Stones.
She added another one to her gauntlet on Thursday with the Seattle Storm’s 79-57 win over the Connecticut Sun for the WNBA’s very first Commissioner’s Cup championship game.
So, for those of us out of the know, the Commissioner’s Cup is a new in-season tournament the W put on for its 25th anniversary.
Throughout the season, prior to the Olympic break, there were 10 games per team that were designated as Commissioner’s Cup tournament games sprinkled throughout their schedule.
The two teams with the highest winning percentages in those games played for the championship. It ended up being the Sun and the Storm. The winning team got a $500,000 prize fund.
Obviously, the Storm won. And it was behind a dazzling 17 point performance from Stewart where she shot 6-8 from the field and 3-4 from deep. She was a +27 on the night.
Fresh off of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, too. She absolutely dominated. And with that, she won MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup — which is, apparently, a thing.
And that adds yet another stone to the infinity gauntlet that is Breanna Stewart’s resume. It just keeps growing despite the fact that she tore her Achilles in 2019.
It looks a little something like this now.
Breanna Stewart's resume is INSANE 🤯
4x NCAA Champ 4x NCAA Tournament MOP 3x NCAA National Player of the Year 3x All-American WNBA Rookie of the year WNBA MVP 2x WNBA Champ 2x WNBA Finals MVP 3x WNBA All-Star 2x WNBA 1st Team Euroleague Champ, MVP, Finals MVP 2x Gold Medalist pic.twitter.com/vWPSP7MQPE
2021 April 18 – EuroLeague championship & Final 4 MVP April 27 – Russian League championship & MVP August 8 – Olympic gold medal & MVP August 12 – WNBA Commissioner's Cup win & MVP
