The WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup is quickly becoming must-watch TV, and this year’s finals are shaping up to be a showdown that feels more like a playoff series than a midseason bonus game. After Wednesday night’s slate wrapped up, the stage is set for a heavyweight rematch: the New York Liberty will host the Las Vegas Aces on June 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
This isn’t just another game — it’s a revival of one of the league’s most intense recent rivalries, with bragging rights and a serious payday on the line. The total prize pool sits at $500,000, with winners taking home $30,000 each and losers collecting $10,000. For players on standard rookie-scale contracts, that’s a significant chunk of change.
The Liberty punched their ticket with a flawless 6-0 run through Commissioner’s Cup group play. That perfect record included a gritty one-point road win over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday, secured by a Sabrina Ionescu game-winner with under ten seconds on the clock. Earlier in the week, New York steamrolled the Washington Mystics, cementing their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The win streak keeps them at 11-4 overall, second best in the league.
Out West, the Aces had a tighter path but got the job done. Needing a win over the Phoenix Mercury to lock up their spot, Las Vegas handled business and finished Commissioner’s Cup play at 6-1. Their only loss came earlier in the month, but they’ve steadied themselves in time for the finals.
These two teams know each other intimately. The Aces beat the Liberty in four games during the 2023 WNBA Finals, a series that saw Las Vegas claim its second straight championship. But New York got revenge last postseason, knocking the Aces out in the semifinals — again in four games. Now, with cash and Cup glory on the line, the bad blood figures to boil over in a game that features some of the best talent the league has ever seen.
This is the third time the Commissioner’s Cup has produced a Liberty-Aces final. Las Vegas won the whole thing in 2022, while New York took it the following year. The Liberty also made it to the 2024 title game, falling to the Minnesota Lynx. So for New York, there’s an extra layer of urgency: they want to avoid becoming the losing finalist for the second time in three years.
Expect a barnburner in Brooklyn. Both teams have MVP-caliber players — Breanna Stewart and Ionescu on one side, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum on the other — and both have championship pedigrees. The extra incentive of a $30,000 winner’s share doesn’t hurt either. This isn’t just a cash grab; it’s a statement game for two franchises that see themselves as the league’s gold standard.
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