2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup

The 2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase was the WNBA's third Commissioner's Cup in league history. The Cup Final featured the top Eastern Conference Cup team facing off against the top Western Conference team.[1] The home team was decided by the team with the highest winning percentage in Cup Play.[2]

2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game
Cup Final
New York Liberty Las Vegas Aces
(7-3) (9-1)
82 63
Head coach:
Sandy Brondello
Head coach:
Becky Hammon
1234 Total
New York Liberty 17152426 82
Las Vegas Aces 11231415 63
DateAugust 15, 2023
VenueMichelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
MVPJonquel Jones (New York)
RefereesRoy Gulbeyan, Eric Brewton, Isaac Barnett
Attendance8,967
United States TV coverage
NetworkAmazon Prime
AnnouncersSarah Kustok
Michael Grady
Baron Davis
← 2022
2024 →

The New York Liberty faced off against the Las Vegas Aces and won 82-63 on August 15, 2023 to claim their first Commissioner's Cup title. Jonquel Jones was named Cup MVP after scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.[3]

Road to the Cup Final edit

The Commissioner's Cup starts by designating a portion of regular-season games – 10 games per team – as counting toward Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” then compete for the Commissioner's Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games are the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals.[4]

Standings edit

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W L
1 New York Liberty[a] 10 7 3
2 Connecticut Sun 10 7 3
3 Atlanta Dream 10 6 4
4 Washington Mystics 10 5 5
5 Chicago Sky 10 3 7
6 Indiana Fever 10 2 8
Source: [5]
Notes:
  1. ^ New York will represent the Eastern Conference due to their head-to-head record against Connecticut. The Liberty went 2-0 against the Sun.
Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W L
1 Las Vegas Aces 10 9 1
2 Dallas Wings 10 6 4
3 Minnesota Lynx 10 5 5
4 Los Angeles Sparks 10 5 5
5 Seattle Storm 10 4 6
6 Phoenix Mercury 10 1 9
Source: [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. Throughout the season, every Commissioner's Cup game win will result in $2,000 for the charity and every loss will result in $500 to their chosen organization.[6]

Team Charity
Atlanta Dream Helping Mamas
Chicago Sky Sister Afya Community Care
Connecticut Sun #Day43 Black Maternal Health Awareness
Dallas Wings Sisters Network Dallas
Indiana Fever Wheeler Mission
Las Vegas Aces NAMI Southern Nevada
Los Angeles Sparks California Women's Law Center
Minnesota Lynx African American Breast Cancer Alliance
New York Liberty Callen-Lorde
Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Birth Foundation
Seattle Storm Therapy Fund Foundation
Washington Mystics MedStar Health Safe Babies. Safe Moms.

Game Summary edit

August 15
18:00 PDT
New York Liberty 82, Las Vegas Aces 63
Scoring by quarter: 17-11, 15-23, 24-14, 26-15
Pts: Marine Johannès (17)
Rebs: Jonquel Jones (15)
Asts: Courtney Vandersloot (10)
Pts: Jackie Young (16)
Rebs: Kiah Stokes
Chelsea Gray (6)
Asts: Kelsey Plum (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena
Attendance: 8,967
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan. Eric Brewton. Isaac Barnett

Team Rosters edit

PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F24 Adika, Okako6' 0" (1.83m)1996-08-23USCR
F2 Burke, Kennedy6' 1" (1.85m)182 lb (83kg)1997-02-14UCLA4
C4 Carter, Jessika6' 5" (1.96m)1999-12-07Mississippi StateR
G1 Davis, Marquesha6' 0" (1.83m)2001-05-29MississippiR
F0 Davis, Kaitlyn6' 2" (1.88m)2001-06-27USCR
G18 Dojkic, Ivana5' 11" (1.8m)154 lb (70kg)1997-12-24Croatia1
F13 Fiebich, Leonie6' 4" (1.93m)2000-01-10GermanyR
F43 Fraser, Brianna6' 3" (1.91m)1997-05-22MarylandR
C32 Igbokwe, Rita6' 4" (1.93m)2001-01-28MississippiR
G20 Ionescu, Sabrina5' 11" (1.8m)165 lb (75kg)1997-12-06Oregon4
F/C35 Jones, Jonquel6' 6" (1.98m)215 lb (98kg)1994-01-05George Washington7
G/F44 Laney, Betnijah6' 0" (1.83m)166 lb (75kg)1993-10-29Rutgers8
F12 Martinez, Esmery6' 2" (1.88m)2000-05-01ArizonaR
33 Mawuli, Stephanie1998-11-24JapanR
F8 Sabally, Nyara6' 5" (1.96m)204 lb (93kg)2000-02-26Oregon1
G Sherrod, Jaylyn5' 7" (1.7m)2001-10-21ColoradoR
F30 Stewart, Breanna6' 4" (1.93m)170 lb (77kg)1994-08-27Connecticut7
F5 Thornton, Kayla6' 1" (1.85m)188 lb (85kg)1992-10-20UTEP8
G22 Vandersloot, Courtney5' 8" (1.73m)137 lb (62kg)1989-02-08Gonzaga13
Head coach
  Sandy Brondello
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
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

  WNBA roster page
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
F1 Bell, Kierstan6' 1" (1.85m)176 lb (80kg)2000-03-16Florida Gulf Coast2
F32 Cannon, Emma6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg)1989-06-01Florida Southern5
F7 Clark, Alysha5' 11" (1.8m)167 lb (76kg)1987-07-07Middle Tennessee11
G51 Colson, Sydney5' 8" (1.73m)140 lb (64kg)1989-08-06Texas A&M9
G2 Fair, Dyaisha5' 5" (1.65m)2001-08-07SyracuseR
G12 Gray, Chelsea5' 11" (1.8m)170 lb (77kg)1992-10-08Duke9
C17 Gustafson, Megan6' 3" (1.91m)195 lb (88kg)1996-12-13Iowa5
C33 Kitley, Elizabeth  6' 5" (1.96m)2001-09-17Virginia TechR
G20 Martin, Kate6' 0" (1.83m)172 lb (78kg)2000-06-05IowaR
G10 Plum, Kelsey5' 8" (1.73m)145 lb (66kg)1994-08-24Washington6
C41 Stokes, Kiah6' 3" (1.91m)191 lb (87kg)1993-03-30Connecticut8
F22 Wilson, A'ja6' 4" (1.93m)195 lb (88kg)1996-08-08South Carolina6
G0 Young, Jackie6' 0" (1.83m)165 lb (75kg)1997-09-16Notre Dame5
Head coach
  Becky Hammon (Colorado State)
Assistant coaches
  Natalie Nakase (UCLA)
  Tyler Marsh (Birmingham–Southern)
  Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn)
Athletic trainer
  Michelle Anumba (Duke)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

  WNBA roster page

References edit

  1. ^ "WNBA Cup Leaderboard". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "WNBA And ESPN Announce Broadcast Schedule and Added Programming For 2023 Regular Season". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Voepel, M.V. "Liberty win Commissioner's Cup with blowout of rival Aces". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "2020 WNBA Season to Feature Inaugural Commissioner's Cup, Expanded 36-Game Schedule for Teams and More ABC Games". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Commissioner's Cup". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Whitley, Brittany. "What is the Commissioner's Cup?". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved June 16, 2023.

External links edit