{"id":193371,"date":"2021-05-18T11:30:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T15:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nothingbutnylon.com\/?p=193371"},"modified":"2021-10-13T16:45:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T20:45:24","slug":"wnba-commissioners-cup-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nothingbutnylon.com\/wnba-commissioners-cup-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2021 as part of its 25th season<\/a>, the WNBA is including something completely brand new: the Commissioner’s Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Commissioner’s Cup? It’s an in-season tournament the WNBA has implemented this year with a $500,000 prize for the winning team that will give the league’s 12 squads something extra to play for. But how does it work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Explained <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup was supposed to begin in 2020, but the pandemic messed that up. So instead, it’s being introduced to us in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tournament uses games from the start of the regular season and gives them additional meaning. The WNBA has moved away from its two conferences determining the playoff bracket, but the conferences get some renewed importance through the Commissioner’s Cup. Every team will play the other five teams in its conference twice – once at home, once on the road – for 10 total games in the first half of the season, and while those games will continue to count as regular season contests that affect playoff inclusion and seeding, they’ll also double as “Cup games.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WNBA<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to Aug. 12. The team with the best winning percentage in “Cup games” from each conference will meet in Phoenix on that date to determine the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champion. The victor will get a trophy and the cash prize, with more than $30,000 going to each player on the winning team and those on the losing team can make up to $10,000 each. The MVP of the championship game will also get an extra $5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The schedule for the event fits perfectly into the Olympic break, set for July 11 to Aug. 15, that chops the season in half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Y'ALL. @amazon<\/a> and @WNBA<\/a> have reached a multi-year deal to stream 16 regular season games and the Commissioner\u2019s Cup Championship on Prime Video!!<\/p>— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) May 12, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>