WNBA Commissioner's Cup

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WNBA Commissioner's Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2021 WNBA season
WNBA Commissioner's Cup Logo.jpg
SportBasketball
Founded2020
No. of teams12
Most recent
champion(s)		Seattle Storm
(1st title)
Most titlesSeattle Storm
(1 title)

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup is an in-season competition that began at the start of the regular season and will continue throughout the first half of the season. A Championship Game will be played between the top teams from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. A total of 60 regular-season contests spread throughout all 12 teams will count towards the Cup standings.[1]

Originally scheduled to begin in the 2020 WNBA Season, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the inaugural Commissioner's Cup Season began in the 2021 season.

Format[]

The new Commissioner's Cup will consist of designating a portion of regular-season games – 10 games per team – as counting towards Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” will then compete for The Commissioner Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals.[2]

The Cup brings back the Eastern vs. Western Conference Rivalry the WNBA used to have in its playoff system. The WNBA stopped doing East vs. West after 20 years.

The 1st Ever Cup Final game was held in Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.[3]

Prize[]

The total compensation tops out at $500,000, with the winning team making around $30,000 per player and the game's MVP taking home an additional $5,000. On the losing team's side, players will earn $10,000 each.[4]

The winning team would also receive the Commissioner's Cup Trophy.

History[]

Year Winner Result Runner-up Cup MVP
2021 Seattle Storm 79–57 [5] Connecticut Sun Breanna Stewart

Cup Appearances[]

Statistics below refer solely to wins and losses in the final, not to Commissioner's Cup qualifying games.

Finals Team Wins Losses Pct. Years Won Years Lost
1 Seattle Storm 1 0 1.000 2021
1 Connecticut Sun 0 1 .000 2021

Records[]

This table shows a list of records through the history of the Commissioner's Cup

Cup records
Milestone Player Team Date Information
Points, individual Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 17 points
Rebounds, individual Jonquel Jones Connecticut Sun August 12, 2021 11 rebounds
Assists, individual Sue Bird Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 5 assists
Steals, individual Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 4 steals
Blocks, individual Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 3 blocks
Points, team N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 79 points vs. Connecticut
Rebounds, team N/A Connecticut Sun August 12, 2021 36 rebounds vs. Seattle
Assists, team N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 18 assists vs. Connecticut
Steals, team N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 14 steals vs. Connecticut
Blocks, team N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 7 blocks vs. Connecticut
Career wins, coach Noelle Quinn Seattle Storm 2021 1 win
Margin of victory N/A Seattle Storm August 12, 2021 22-point win (79–57)
over Connecticut
Attendance, one game N/A Footprint Center
Phoenix Mercury (Host City) 		August 12, 2021 5,006

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hansen, Mitchell. "WNBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP: WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS, AND WHAT'S ON THE LINE". winsider.com. WInsider. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. ^ "2020 WNBA Season to Feature Inaugural Commissioner's Cup, Expanded 36-Game Schedule for Teams and More ABC Games". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Mercury, Phoenix Suns Arena to host 1st WNBA Commissioner's Cup". arizonasports.com. Arizona Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ Powell, Jackie. "What's at Stake in Groundbreaking WNBA Commissioner's Cup?". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Connecticut vs. Seattle Boxscore". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 29 August 2021.

External links[]

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