WNBA Commissioner’s Cup: Everything You Need to Know

The WNBA Commissioner Cup has proved to be the extra spice at the start of the season that fans demand. It sets up the stage for the Conference leaders to go one-on-one against each other. However, it is a new tradition for the WNBA that just started in the year 2021. As the years pass and the league grows, the sponsors are increasing the stakes.

Also, the league is expanding, and new CBA rules will soon be implemented in 2026. So, it will be better to assume that big changes might await the WNBA Commissioner Cup as well. However, before the big change, we must get to know about this tournament more. So, let’s move ahead with the details.

What is the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup?

According to the WNBA, the Commissioner’s Cup is an annual in-season competition in the WNBA league that is played before the WNBA regular season. The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games runs for a $500,000 prize pool. According to the rules, the final of the Cup will be played in the home arena of the team that has the best record in the Cup play. Additionally, for the year 2025, Coinbase has committed $120,000 in cryptocurrency to the prize pool, which includes $5,000 for each player in the championship game.

This tournament has proved to be an extra incentive and increased interest for players and double entertainment for the fans. Moreover, The Commissioner’s Cup serves more than just the on-court basketball. Through this platform, the league will make charitable contributions to non-profit organizations related to the players’ social justice work. The collected donation dollars will be then presented to each organization at the end of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship.

When was it launched?

The Commissioner’s Cup was planned to begin in the 2020 WNBA season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cup was commenced 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.

Format of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup

The Commissioner’s Cup consists of regular-season games designated to count toward Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” competes for the Commissioner’s Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games are a series of home or road games against its five conference rivals starting in the 2024 season. From 2021 to 2023, Cup games were the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals. The Cup restores the Eastern–Western Conference rivalry that the WNBA used in its playoff tournament until the 2015 WNBA Playoffs.

How Will Teams Qualify for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in 2025?

The Commissioner’s Cup in 2025 is scheduled from June 1 to June 17, while the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game is to be held on July 1. Here’s how the teams will qualify for their place in the championship game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup:

• Each team plays five games against its conference rivals, either at home or away 
• The team with the best record in each conference advances to the Championship game 
• The team with the best record in the Championship game hosts the game 
• The Championship game is the only game that doesn’t count toward the teams’ overall records

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Teams

Last season, all of the 12 teams from the WNBA participated in the WNBA Commissioner Cup. They had to first face the teams for their respective Conferences to then move ahead in the tournament. Finally, they would face the franchises who have moved up from other conferences in the Commissioner Cup finale. Here are the teams that made it to this tournament last season:

• Atlanta Dream– The Dream did not have an excellent Commissioner Cup last season, with a 1-4 record. They are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and might go for a better run in the 2025 season.
• Chicago Sky– Even with players like Angel Reese, Chennedy Carter, and Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky was not able to make a splash in the first half of the Commissioner Cup last season. They had the same record as the Dream, with a 1-4 win-loss ratio.
• Connecticut Sun– The Sun roster has big names and tried their best to make the run for the title. They had an excellent 4-1 record but could not get past New York Liberty to secure the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
• Dallas Wings- Despite having Arike Ogunbowale and Natasha Howard, the Dallas Wings had a drastic fall in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup 2024, as they had not won a single game.

Also Read: Ranking Top WNBA Champions: Teams, Players and More

• Indiana Fever– With a new rookie like Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever took some time to settle and had a 3-2 win-loss record. They were at the third spot in the Eastern Conference rankings.
• Las Vegas Aces– The Aces had the highest-paid WNBA player, Jackie Young, with them, along with stars like Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson, and Alysha Clark. Yet the team was in fifth place in the Western Conference rankings.
• Los Angeles Sparks– The Sparks had the same 2-3 record as the Aces and had fourth place in the Western Conference.
• Minnesota Lynx– With a legendary coach like Cheryl Reeve, they were dominant in the first half of the 2024 WNBA season. They clinched the title from the New York Liberty in the Commissioner’s Cup finals.
• New York Liberty– No doubt, the New York Liberty were the champions of the 2025 WNBA season. But during the first half of the season, they could not bring the title Cup to the Eastern Conference.
• Phoenix Mercury
• Seattle Storm– The Storm were on a roll with players like Jewell Loyd and Nneka Ogwumike. They had a 4-1 win-loss record, but the strategical brilliance of the Lynx could not be matched.
• Washington Mystics- The Mystics were in the same league as Dream and the Sky as they were in the fourth spot of the Eastern Conference.

Such a tournament creates momentum for the teams as well at the start of the season. They get to know the potential of other teams, which proves fruitful in the second half of the WNBA regular season and the postseason. Therefore, it acts as a warm-up tournament before the final heat of the season ends and playoff matches.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Prize Money & Payout

According to the announcement from the league, the prize money for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup is $500,000. However, The Atheltic analyst Mike Vorkunov has raised a query about this allotment. His main argument is that according to the 2020 CBA rules,  the total prize pool for the league’s “special competitions or tournaments” should be $750,000.

But the $250,000 that should be available for the players as a reward is still not given to them. So, where is it heading in the league management?

The reward is usually cash in the league prizes. However, the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship, a 36-game in-season basketball tournament, will award the players competing in both cash and $5,000/player of cryptocurrency after doing the same last season, according to Marketwatch. Last season, the Coinbase became the sponsor of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Therefore, the concept of cryptocurrency came into play from their end.

Here is a breakdown of the salaries and rewards that WNBA players might receive at the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup according to the Sporting News data:

WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook said last season, “Our partnership with Coinbase is representative of the WNBA’s emphasis on innovation as we continue to find opportunities to meet our fans where they are.” But this format of the cryptocurrency reward might also backfire on the league as well since the value of the Cryptocurrency fluctuates, and that will not be fair to the performance and their efforts over the years.

Last year, the Lynx also earned an extra $10,000 for their chosen charity, Gender Justice, which focuses on advancing efforts for gender equality. As the runner-up, Liberty got $5,000 for Women Creating Change, as per CBS data.

Also Read: WNBA Commissioner’s Cup History, Winners, and Prize Money

Past WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Winners

A total of four teams have got the chance to be the title holder of the Commissioner Cup since its inauguration in the 2021 season:

• 2021: Seattle Storm defeated the Connecticut Sun, 79–57, in the debut Cup.
• 2022: Las Vegas Aces took away the game from the Chicago Sky with a 93–83 scorecard.
• 2023: New York Liberty, for the first time, won the title while playing against the Las Vegas Aces. They won by 9 point margin, putting up 82–63 on the scoreboard.
• 2024: The Minnesota Lynx paid their regular season due to the New York Liberty winning by just a five-point gap..

Due to a new format and fresh start for the players, the tournament is getting new teams every team. However, in the long run, the pattern will be visible according to the top leading teams from the previous season.

Also Read: Top 10 Greatest WNBA MVP Award Winners of All Time