The institution of the Commissioner’s Cup, intended for 2020 but delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was intended to introduce early-season excitement into the WNBA regular season by adding an event with both competitive and financial stakes.
Six season in, has the WNBA’s in-season tournament met those goals? Overall, I lean towards the Cup not providing the extra juice envisioned.
For me, it’s not about the fact that only one of the five Cup championship games have been decided by single
digits, which was the Minnesota Lynx’s 2024 victory over the New York Liberty. More particularly, I’ve wanted to see a high-stakes final day of Cup play.
Give me a situation where multiple scenarios are possible. I want several teams remaining in contention to win both the East and West. I’d like to see consequential head-to-head games. Let’s have a point differential come into play, with teams not only needing to win but also needing to win by a certain margin. Make a multi-game viewing experience a necessity.
This season, that might happen.
Thanks to the Dallas Wings’ historic home win over the Las Vegas Aces on Monday night, there will be some drama on the final day of Cup play. At least in the Western Conference.
The New York Liberty are settled as the Eastern Conference representative, already 5-0 in Cup play before a final, inconsequential game against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, USA Network).
Entering Monday night at 5-0 in Cup, the Aces could have claimed the West’s spot with win, thus setting up a rematch of the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup final, which was won by New York. A previously-electric Aces offense, however, had no juice, tying their season-low with 66 total points as they experienced their poorest shooting night of the season.
Interestingly, Vegas’ anemic offensive numbers are comparable to only one other performance from the 2026 season: their opening day disaster against the Phoenix Mercury.
And, the team Vegas now must beat to still become the West’s representative in the Cup final? Phoenix.
Can the Mercury, the most disappointing team of the season so far, serve as the source of final day Cup drama by again mustering their best effort against the Aces?
If so, then the Minnesota Lynx, the team Phoenix upset in the second round of last season’s playoffs, will be the beneficiaries, setting up a rematch of the aforementioned 2024 Cup championship game.
The Lynx, like the Aces, now have a 5-1 record in Cup play after a Monday night domination of the Portland Fire that vaulted their point differential to an astronomical +111.
But because they lost to the Aces, the Lynx need a Vegas loss in order to book a third-straight trip to the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. They’ll also need to take care of business on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks (10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
So, when Aces-Mercury and Lynx-Sparks tip off at 10 p.m. ET, let’s hope things get a crazy!
Can the Mercury establish a lead over the Aces? What if the Sparks race out to a huge lead over the Lynx before Minnesota begins to charge back? That’s what we need for some chaos to ensue!
Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic. After their desultory performance in Dallas, on top of their opening day loss to Phoenix, I expect Vegas to earn an authoritative win, eliminating any real down-to-the-wire excitement.
What about you? Will the Cup, finally, give us some final day drama? Can the Mercury and Sparks make things interesting? Or, are you also expecting the Aces to punch their ticket without much fun or fuss?
Share you predictions in the comments, as well as your overall feelings about the Commissioner’s Cup.
