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What is the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup?

We take a look at the rules and format for the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

WNBA: Commissioner’s Cup-Championship Game-Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Update: The 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game will feature the Las Vegas Aces battling the New York Liberty at Michelob UTLRA Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The game will take place on Tuesday, August 15 at 9 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

Las Vegas will is aiming to successfully defend its Commissioner’s Cup title from last year and become the first two-time champion since the league introduced the concept.


The 2023 WNBA season is rolling right along and an interesting subplot to pay attention to is the race for the Commissioner’s Cup. This is the third straight year that teams will be jockeying to play in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, which will take place on Tuesday, August 15.

The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup is an in-season competition consisting of 10 games for each team in the league. The teams are split into two conferences, with both the first home and road games they play against each team in their conference counting as official Commissioner Cup games. The Eastern Conference consists of the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, and Washington Mystics while the Western Conference consists of the Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury, and Seattle Storm.

The teams in each conference with the highest winning percentage in Commissioner’s Cup games will advance to play each other in the aforementioned Commissioner Cup Championship. The winner receives a $500,000 prize pool for the players and a donation to a charity that the organization supports. The MVP of the championship game will also take home an additional $5,000.

The Seattle Storm won the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup in 2021, blasting the Connecticut Sun in a 79-57 rout in the title game. Then last year in 2022, the Las Vegas Aces claimed the cup on their way to winning the WNBA Finals, defeating the Chicago Sky 93-83.

You can find the current standings for the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup right here.