The first three weeks of the 2026 season have served as a warm-up for the sixth annual Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase.

The WNBA’s in-season tournament tips off Monday, June 1, and runs through the 17th, with all 49 games played during that time counting toward the regular-season and Commissioner Cup standings.

The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game and a $500,000 prize pool on Tuesday, June 30.

In addition to providing exciting games with elevated stakes early in the regular season, the Commissioner’s Cup has also provided a glimpse of how the postseason field can shake out. Several recent Cup winners and runners-up have gone on to reach the WNBA Finals in the same season. Will that trend continue in 2026?

As the competition gets set to tip off, let’s take a closer look at what we’ve seen from each team in the field and how they stack up against one another in this week’s Power Rankings.

Note: All stats and records are through games played on Sunday, May 31.

1. Minnesota Lynx (6-2) ⬆️

Courtney Williams #10 and Olivia Miles #5 of the Minnesota Lynx

• Last Week: 5
• This Week: Mon. at PHX, Thu. vs. GSV, Sat. vs. SEA

The 2024 Commissioner’s Cup champions (and 2025 runners-up) enter the competition on a hot streak, winning four straight games to rise to the top of the standings. Despite missing two players from last year’s All-Defensive First Team – Napheesa Collier (injury) and co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith (signed with Dallas) – the Lynx still own the league’s top defensive rating (96.8). They also have an early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year in Olivia Miles, who leads all first-year players in points (15.4) and assists (5.9) and ranks second in rebounds (5.1).

2. Atlanta Dream (5-2) ↔️

• Last Week: 2
• This Week: Tue vs. CON, Thu. at IND, Sat. vs. WAS

The league’s only other two-loss team, the Dream, fell to the Lynx on Wednesday before bouncing back with a 20-point win over Portland. Similar to the Lynx, the Dream are leading with defense. Atlanta holds the league’s second-best defensive rating (100.0), allows the fewest 3-pointers made, the fewest free throws attempted and forces the third-most turnovers. But their 11th-ranked offensive rating (105.0) will need to climb in order to contend for the Cup.

3. Dallas Wings (5-3) ⬆️

• Last Week: 6
• This Week: Mon. vs. SEA, Fri. at LAS

The Wings only had one game on their schedule in Week 3, and Jessica Shepard made the most of it, posting only the second 20-20-10 game in the WNBA’s 30-year history. She finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 95-87 win over the defending champion Aces to join Alyssa Thomas in the record books. After a 1-2 start, the Wings have won four of their last five as they enter Cup play.

4. Las Vegas Aces (5-3) ⬇️

• Last Week: 1
• This Week: Tue. at LAS, Sat. vs. GSV

After giving up that big game to Dallas’ Shepard and losing their third game of the early season, the Aces bounced back with a 91-81 win over the Valkyries to enter Cup play on a winning note and make Becky Hammon the second-fastest coach to reach 150 wins. Las Vegas is one of three teams, along with New York and Minnesota, to reach the Cup Championship Game twice, and will look to get back to that stage for the first time since 2023 as the competition gets underway.

5. Golden State Valkyries (5-3) ⬇️

• Last Week: 4
• This Week: Tue. vs. POR, Thu. at MIN, Sat. at LVA

Following a blowout win over Connecticut, the Valkyries earned their first clutch win of the season with a 90-88 victory over Indiana. But they were unable to complete a perfect week, falling to Las Vegas on Sunday. The Valkyries open Cup play with a challenging first week, facing a trio of teams — Portland (6-4), Minnesota (6-2), and Las Vegas (5-3) — with a combined 17-9 record to open the season. Can the Valkyries run that gauntlet and make an early statement in Cup competition?

6. New York Liberty (5-4) ⬆️

The New York Liberty

• Last Week: 7
• This Week: Wed. vs. TOR, Sat. vs. IND

New York snapped a three-game skid with back-to-back wins over the Mercury that showcased the Liberty’s depth. On Wednesday, it was Marine Johannes (21 points on seven 3s) and Jonquel Jones (scoring 10 of her 17 points during a 23-0 third-quarter run) who led the way. Two days later, it was Pauline Astier (16 points and 6 assists) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (13 points in 15 bench minutes) who paced New York. If the Liberty hope to return to the Cup Championship for the third time in four years, getting Sabrina Ionescu (who has played in only one game) back on the court healthy will be key.

7. Portland Fire (6-4) ⬆️

• Last Week: 9
• This Week: Tue. at GSV, Fri. vs. PHX, Sun. at LAS

The busiest team in the WNBA in Week 3 emerged with a 3-1 record over the past seven days, picking up wins over New York, Connecticut, and Indiana, compared to only a single loss to Atlanta. The Fire will make their Commissioner’s Cup debut on Tuesday when they visit Ballhalla to take on the Valkyries in the Bay. Portland is 6-4 through its first 10 games, just ahead of Golden State’s 5-5 pace in its inaugural season a year ago. The expansion team enters Cup play as the league’s best clutch team, going 4-0 in games with the score within five points in the final five minutes.

8. Indiana Fever (4-4) ⬇️

• Last Week: 3
• This Week: Thu. vs. ATL, Sat. at NYL

Last year, the Fever became the fifth different team in the event’s five-year history to win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Now, they’ll attempt to do something their four predecessors could not — successfully defend the Cup title. That defense gets started this week with matchups against the Dream and Liberty. Indy is coming off consecutive road losses to Golden State and Portland, the latter of which saw Caitlin Clark limited to a season-low six points in 22 minutes as she battled foul trouble. Any attempt at a successful Cup defense will need some big games from Clark over the next few weeks.

9. Toronto Tempo (5-4) ⬆️

• Last Week: 12
• This Week: Wed. at NYL, Sun. vs. CHI

The Tempo get their first taste of Commissioner’s Cup action this week when they visit the Liberty on Wednesday before hosting the Sky on Sunday. Toronto is coming off back-to-back wins over Chicago and Seattle last week and will go for their first-ever three-game win streak when they face the Liberty for the first time.

10. Los Angeles Sparks (4-4) ↔️

• Last Week: 10
• This Week: Tue. vs. LVA, Fri. vs. DAL, Sun. vs. POR

We know the Sparks will open Cup play on Tuesday when they host the Aces. We don’t know if Kelsey Plum will be on the court. The WNBA’s leading scorer at 26.8 points per game has missed L.A.’s last two games after suffering a sprained ankle in practice last week. She is set to be evaluated on Tuesday to determine her status for the Cup opener. Playing without Plum last week, the Sparks edged out Washington before falling to Connecticut, giving the Sun just their second win of the season.

11. Washington Mystics (3-4) ⬆️

Shakira Austin #0 of the Washington Mystics

• Last Week: 13
• This Week: Tue. vs. CHI, Sat. at ATL

With all Commissioner’s Cup games being played over the next 17 days, a hot streak can elevate a team, while a losing streak may spell doom. The Mystics have yet to win consecutive games so far this season, coming up short on all three occasions. Stacking wins is something the Mystics must do if they hope to make a run at the Cup Championship Game.

12. Chicago Sky (3-5) ⬇️

• Last Week: 8
• This Week: Tue. at WAS, Fri. vs. CON, Sun. at TOR

After a promising 3-1 start to the season, the Sky have dropped four straight games, falling in both the standings and these rankings. Chicago, the 2022 Cup runner-up, faces a three-game slate in the opening week of Cup competition. Following matchups with the Mystics and Sun, the Sky will have their second shot at the expansion Tempo after Toronto earned an 111-104 win last week. The Tempo lived up to their name, posting a WNBA season-high 111 points.

13. Seattle Storm (3-6) ⬇️

• Last Week: 11
• This Week: Mon. at DAL, Wed. vs. PHX, Sat. at MIN

The Storm’s roster looked very different from what it does now when they won the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup Championship in 2021. That 2021 roster featured Sue Bird (retired), Breanna Stewart (now with New York), and Jewell Loyd (now with Las Vegas). The only players remaining from that 2021 Cup championship roster are Katie Lou Samuelson (who has appeared in just three games) and Ezi Magbegor (who has yet to play this season). A key player to watch if she is able to return for this week’s trio of Cup games is Dominique Malonga, who played in only three games after missing the past six due to a concussion.

14. Phoenix Mercury (2-7) ↔️

• Last Week: 14
• This Week: Mon. vs. MIN, Wed. at SEA, Fri. at POR

Phoenix opens up Commissioner’s Cup play on Monday against Minnesota, looking to snap the WNBA’s longest active losing streak. After opening the season 2-2, the Mercury have dropped five straight games, including consecutive losses to New York in Week 3. Following their Cup opener at home against the Lynx, the Mercury head to the Pacific Northwest to face the Storm and Fire to close out the week.

15. Connecticut Sun (2-8) ↔️

• Last Week: 15
• This Week: Tue. at ATL, Fri. at CHI

The Sun became the first-ever Commissioner’s Cup runner-up back in 2021. But Connecticut has not been back to the Championship Stage since. After defeating the Sparks on Saturday to snap a three-game skid, the Sun will visit the Dream on Tuesday and the Sky on Friday to open up Group Play.