2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup

The 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase) is the WNBA's fourth Commissioner's Cup in league history. The Cup featured a transition away from the ten-game format to a five-game format, with some teams only having two home games. The best team in cup play from each conference faces off in a championship game.[1][2] The Cup was won by the Minnesota Lynx, the franchise's first Commissioner's Cup.[3]

2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game
Cup Final
Minnesota Lynx New York Liberty
(4-1) (5-0)
94 89
Head coach:
Cheryl Reeve
Head coach:
Sandy Brondello
1234 Total
Minnesota Lynx 23241928 94
New York Liberty 27231029 89
Date
  • Regular Season: June 1-13, 2024
  • Championship: June 25, 2024
Venue
  • Local WNBA Arenas (Regular Season)
  • UBS Arena (Championship)
MVPNapheesa Collier (MIN)
← 2023

Format

edit

The team with the best record in cup games from each conference will play in the championship game against each other, with the team having the best record hosting the game. This season, the cup shifted to a five-game per team format instead of the previous ten games per team. All games were played between June 1, 2024 and June 13, 2024.[1][4] The team with the best record hosted the Cup Final. With their 5–0 cup record, that was the New York Liberty. Their regular home arena, the Barclays Center, was unable to host due to the NBA draft being hosted there on June 26. Therefore, the final was hosted at the UBS Arena in the Nassau County community of Elmont.[5]

Funding to Local Non-Profits

edit

Each team selects a charity of their choice to represent, and support thought the Commissioner's Cup series.[6]

Team Charity
Atlanta Dream Helping Mamas
Chicago Sky EverThrive Illinois
Connecticut Sun Reproductive Equity Now
Dallas Wings The Afiya Center
Indiana Fever Indiana Black Expo
Las Vegas Aces Reproductive Freedom for All
Los Angeles Sparks Feminist Majority Foundation
Minnesota Lynx Gender Justice
New York Liberty Women Creating Change
Phoenix Mercury Arizona Coalition for Change
Seattle Storm Pro Choice Washington
Washington Mystics Vote 411

Standings

edit

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD GB Qualification NYL CON IND WAS CHI ATL
1 New York Liberty 5 5 0 445 367 +78 Advance to Championship Game 104–68 93–88
2 Connecticut Sun 5 4 1 392 338 +54 1 75–82 89–72 76–59
3 Indiana Fever 5 3 2 387 430 −43 2 71–70 91–84
4 Washington Mystics 5 1 4 388 401 −13 4 83–85 71–79
5 Chicago Sky 5 1 4 379 402 −23 4 75–88 75–83 80–89
6 Atlanta Dream 5 1 4 352 405 −53 4 61–78 50–69 68–87
Source: WNBA

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD GB Qualification MIN SEA PHO LAS LVA DAL
1 Minnesota Lynx 5 4 1 436 369 +67 Advance to Championship Game 83–64 87–76
2 Seattle Storm 5 4 1 409 373 +36 80–62 95–79
3 Phoenix Mercury 5 3 2 426 421 +5 1 81–80 87–68 99–103
4 Los Angeles Sparks 5 2 3 386 432 −46 2 62–86 96–92 81–72
5 Las Vegas Aces 5 2 3 441 454 −13 2 86–100 65–78
6 Dallas Wings 5 0 5 403 452 −49 4 84–92 90–97 81–95
Source: WNBA

Game Summary

edit
June 25
8:00 PM EST
Minnesota Lynx 94, New York Liberty 89
Scoring by quarter: 23-27, 24-23, 19-10, 28-29
Pts: Bridget Carleton (23)
Rebs: N. Collier and A. Smith (6)
Asts: Napheesa Collier (6)
Pts: Breanna Stewart (24)
Rebs: Jonquel Jones (12)
Asts: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (6)
UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
Attendance: 7,015
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan
Eric Brewton
Angelica Suffren

Team Rosters

edit

New York Liberty

edit
2024 New York Liberty roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G/F 2   Burke, Kennedy 6' 1" (1.85m) 182 lb (83kg) 02-14-1997 UCLA 4
G 1   Davis, Marquesha 6' 0" (1.83m) 05-29-2001 Mississippi R
G 18   Dojkić, Ivana 5' 11" (1.8m) 154 lb (70kg) 12-24-1997 Croatia 1
F 13   Fiebich, Leonie 6' 4" (1.93m) 01-10-2000 Germany R
G 20   Ionescu, Sabrina 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-12-06 Oregon 4
C 35   Jones, Jonquel 6' 6" (1.98m) 215 lb (98kg) 1994-01-05 George Washington 7
G/F 44   Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 166 lb (75kg) 1993-10-29 Rutgers 8
C 8   Sabally, Nyara   6' 5" (1.96m) 204 lb (93kg) 2000-02-26 Oregon 1
F 30   Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-08-27 Connecticut 7
F 5   Thornton, Kayla 6' 1" (1.85m) 188 lb (85kg) 1992-10-20 UTEP 8
G 22   Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 137 lb (62kg) 1989-02-08 Gonzaga 13
Head coach
  Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney)
Assistant coaches
  Olaf Lange
  Roneeka Hodges (Florida State)
  Zach O'Brien (Saint Joseph's College of Maine)
Athletic trainer
  Terri Acosta
Strength and conditioning coach
  Emily Zaler

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Depth

edit
Pos. Starter Bench
PG Sabrina Ionescu Courtney Vandersloot
Marquesha Davis
SG Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Ivana Dojkić
SF Kayla Thornton Leonie Fiebich
PF Breanna Stewart Kennedy Burke
C Jonquel Jones Nyara Sabally  

Minnesota Lynx

edit
2024 Minnesota Lynx roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G/F 6   Carleton, Bridget 6' 1" (1.85m) 190 lb (86kg) 1997-05-22 Iowa State 5
F 24   Collier, Napheesa 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 1996-09-23 Connecticut 5
G 2   Hiedeman, Natisha 5' 8" (1.73m) 135 lb (61kg) 1997-02-10 Marquette 5
G/F 14   Juhász, Dorka 6' 5" (1.96m) 192 lb (87kg) 1999-12-18 Connecticut 1
F 3   Koné, Sika 6' 4" (1.93m) 180 lb (82kg) 2002-07-13 Mali 1
G 21   McBride, Kayla 5' 10" (1.78m) 186 lb (84kg) 1992-06-25 Notre Dame 10
G 1   Miller, Diamond   6' 3" (1.91m) 163 lb (74kg) 2001-02-11 Maryland 1
F 35   Pili, Alissa 6' 2" (1.88m) 235 lb (107kg) 2001-06-08 Utah R
F 8   Smith, Alanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 180 lb (82kg) 09-10-1996 Stanford 5
G 10   Williams, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 133 lb (60kg) 1994-05-11 South Florida 8
F 9   Zandalasini, Cecilia 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 1996-03-16 Italy 2
G 0   Époupa, Olivia 5' 5" (1.65m) 119 lb (54kg) 1994-04-30 France R
Head coach
  Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
  Katie Smith (Ohio State)
  Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
  Elaine Powell (LSU)
Athletic trainer
  Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
  Brandi BlueArm (Mankato)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Depth

edit
Pos. Starter Bench
PG Courtney Williams Natisha Hiedeman
SG Kayla McBride Olivia Époupa
SF Bridget Carleton Cecilia Zandalasini
Diamond Miller  
PF Napheesa Collier Alissa Pili
C Alanna Smith Dorka Juhász
Sika Koné

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "About the 2024 Cup". Women's National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Guide to the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup". nbcnewyork.com. NBC Sports. May 30, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  3. ^ Michael Voepel (June 25, 2024). "Lynx surge past Liberty to win first Commissioner's Cup title". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  4. ^ McGregor, Gilbert (June 1, 2024). "What is the WNBA Commissioner's Cup? Explaining the in-season tournament schedule, prize money and more". thesportingnews.com. The Sporting News. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  5. ^ Philippou, Alexa (June 17, 2024). "Commissioner's Cup title game moved to UBS Arena due to NBA draft". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "In the Cup". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
edit