The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup will tackle a barely totally different look in its fourth 12 months. No, the league did not announce flashy court docket designs or a $18 million greenback prize pool like its youthful brother, the NBA Cup. Nonetheless, like the boys’s event, the Commissioner’s Cup will condense the Cup video games.
“After crowning three Commissioner’s Cup champions since 2021, we consider it’s time to introduce a brand new, streamlined format for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup offered by Coinbase for the 2024 season,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert mentioned within the league press release.
This is a breakdown of the modifications.
Two-week competitors
In 2024, all WNBA groups will play their 5 qualifying video games between June 1-13. As in years previous, these designated video games will probably be a part of each workforce’s 40-game schedule and can rely towards their season report. Nonetheless, in contrast to in years’ previous, all Commissioner’s Cup video games will probably be performed in a selected window of time.
“The newly designed, concentrated construction for this in-season event provides an elevated sense of urgency and pleasure as we place a specific highlight on Japanese and Western Convention Commissioner’s Cup play in a two-week window close to the tip-off of our common season,” Engelbert mentioned.
Within the first three years, the primary dwelling sport and first street sport every workforce performed towards its 5 convention rivals have been designated as Cup video games. The groups with the best successful proportion by way of these 5 video games would punch their ticket to the Championship Sport of the Commissioner’s Cup. Moreover, the Cup championship will probably be performed in late June, versus August.
Final 12 months, this led to a showdown in Sin Metropolis between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. The Liberty took the midsummer championship with an 82-63 win over the 2022 Cup winners. The Aces went on to defeat the Liberty in Sport 4 of the WNBA Finals for his or her second consecutive championship.
Extra competitors, extra drama
Engelbert continues to prioritize alternatives to develop WNBA rivalries. Rivalries amongst followers of particular WNBA gamers and groups are in good provide on social media. What issues just like the Commissioner’s Cup or tight MVP races do is flip heated debates into dwell leisure.
“The main target is on making the Commissioner’s Cup offered by Coinbase much more participating for all our stakeholders, together with followers, groups, gamers and the group organizations that collaborate with our groups through the designated video games,” Engelbert mentioned.
This hyper-focus helps construct family names, which in flip drives deeper and extra vital alternatives for the league to parlay the movie star of gamers like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and others into advertising and marketing alternatives.
“I feel the increasingly folks know who our gamers are, the extra they watch,” Engelbert instructed media forward of Sport 1 of the WNBA Finals. “The extra viewership you get, the extra attendance you get … the extra cities you’re in.”
WNBA
The method appears to be working. The league introduced growth to Northern California in October and Engelbert plans so as to add a second growth workforce by 2025. Moreover, the WNBA hit report numbers in attendance, viewership and merchandise gross sales. Highlights embrace:
- Over 36 million complete distinctive viewers throughout all nationwide networks, up 27 % from 2022 and the best since 2008
- The best complete attendance (1,587,488) in 13 years
- 9.5 million distinctive viewers all through the postseason
- Sport 3 of the WNBA Finals at Barclays Heart hit an all-time attendance report of 17,000 followers
Identical to the NCA Cup, the Commissioner’s Cup took some time to resonate with gamers and followers alike. The prize cash helped deliver gamers alongside. The in-season event closing yields a $500,000 prize pool cut up between the highest groups from the Japanese and Western Convention, respectively. Every participant on the Los Angeles Lakers obtained $500,000 for his or her win over the Milwaukee Bucks within the NBA Cup. Little doubt gamers wish to see the league transfer towards bigger payouts.
Because the league prepares to renegotiate broadcast offers with media companions and probably a brand new CBA with the gamers affiliation, will probably be fascinating to see if and the way these progress numbers influence wage will increase, compensation bumps and even roster sizes within the WNBA.
Extra modifications on the horizon?
Total, the Commissioner’s Cup goes hand-in-hand with Engelbert’s progress technique. The minor schedule modifications seemingly present a possibility for the league to go all-in with advertising and marketing forward of the Commissioner’s Cup Last. But, after seeing how the NBA rolled out the purple carpet — or distinctive court docket designs — for its in-season event, maybe the WNBA will make extra modifications to the Commissioner’s Cup.
The NBA Cup courts drew blended evaluations. “In principle, having distinctive courts to set the event aside from the remainder of the video games was a superb thought, however execution wasn’t fairly there,” mentioned CBS Sports activities NBA author Jasmyn Wimbish.
Gamers complained about unacceptable court docket circumstances and elevating well being and security issues. The New York Liberty has used particular court docket designs in partnership with Xbox the previous two seasons with no complaints. Whether or not the league opts for particular court docket designs or not, they’ll want greater than a minor schedule change to drive curiosity.
Talking of the schedule, the league introduced the complete 2024 slate, which incorporates the ultimate Commissioner’s Cup schedule. Given how final season performed out, most individuals have been excited to see when the Liberty and Aces sq. off for the primary time, and that matchup is slated for June 15. Nonetheless, that date will do little to drive pleasure for the Commissioner’s Cup for the reason that groups are in reverse conferences. Additional, the 2 WNBA Finals groups dropped 4 Commissioner’s Cup convention video games mixed.
The NBA Cup performed its hand effectively by asserting the Cup Last can be performed in Las Vegas. “Sopranos” star Michael Imperioli, narrated and starred in a “Ocean’s Eleven”-esque industrial through which Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Trae Younger, Julius Randle, Darius Garland, Draymond Inexperienced and Kawhi Leonard plotted elaborate heist makes an attempt to say the NBA Cup. All makes an attempt have been futile as a result of, “The one strategy to get the NBA Cup is to win it,” Imperioli says.
It could be nice to see the league lean into this stage or advertising and marketing, together with naming the Cup Last location upfront. The WNBA at present holds the championship sport on the area of the workforce with the most effective report in Cup play. Bumping the event to earlier within the common season could assist enhance early viewership numbers.
Nonetheless, the brand new schedule provides followers a shorter window to plan journey, and which will influence the power for the WNBA to get wherever near the report 17,000 followers in attendance for Sport 3 of the 2023 Finals.
The 2024 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup will probably be held Tuesday, June 25 on the dwelling area of the upper seed. Though Prime Video has aired the Commissioner’s Cup Championship prior to now, sport time and broadcast particulars haven’t but been introduced.
