What is the Commissioner’s Cup?
The Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase is an annual in-season competition, which ten designated regular-season cup games- 1st home game & 1st road game against conference opponents, with a prize pool of $500,000 in the Championship Game for the players and at least $165,000 in charitable donations throughout this year’s series. At the end of Commissioner’s Cup play, the team with the highest winning percentage in each conference will face off in a Championship Game.
The Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase will feature a new platform through which teams will provide funding to local nonprofits, and the league and teams collaborate to select organizations in each market focused on women’s health, with a focus on advocacy in Black, Brown, and LGBTQ communities. The WNBA will be donating $2,000 to the chosen organization of each cup game’s winning team and an additional $500 to the losing team’s organization. To help spotlight the Championship Game for the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase, the league will donate $10,000 to the winning team’s chosen organization and $5,000 to the organization of the runner-up. The accumulating donation dollars will be presented to each organization at the conclusion of the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase.
How are tie-breakers decided?
If there were a tie in winning percentage after Commissioner’s Cup games, these cross-conference tiebreaker scenarios would’ve been used to determine the host team:
- First Tiebreaker – Head-to-head record (if the teams have played each other)
- Second Tiebreaker – Highest winning percentage in all regular-season games at the end of games on Thursday, July 7
- Third Tiebreaker – Cumulative point differential (in Cup games), net result of total points scored minus total points allowed.
- Fourth Tiebreaker – Coin flip
For tie-breakers In-Conference:
- 1st Tiebreaker – Head-to-head record
- 2nd Tiebreaker – Cumulative point differential (in Cup games)
- 3rd Tiebreaker – Winning percentage in conference
- 4th Tiebreaker – Coin flip
Who won the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup?
2023: The New York Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces, 82-63, in the Championship Game of the third-annual Commissioner’s Cup, which took place at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Who won the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup?
2022: The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Chicago Sky, 93-83, in the Championship Game of the second-annual Commissioner’s Cup, which took place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2022.
Who won the 2021 Commissioner’s Cup?
2021: The Seattle Storm defeated the Connecticut Sun, 79-57, in the Championship Game of the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup, which took place at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.