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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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2023 New York Liberty roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 31   Dolson, Stefanie 6' 5" (1.96m) 235 lb (107kg) 1992-01-08 Connecticut 9
G 20   Ionescu, Sabrina 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-12-06 Oregon 3
G 23   Johannès, Marine 5' 10" (1.78m) 134 lb (61kg) 01-21-1995 France 2
F/C 35   Jones, Jonquel 6' 6" (1.98m) 215 lb (98kg) 1994-01-05 George Washington 6
G/F 44   Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 166 lb (75kg) 1993-10-29 Rutgers 7
F 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 6
F 5   Thornton, Kayla 6' 1" (1.85m) 188 lb (85kg) 1992-10-20 UTEP 7
G 22   Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 137 lb (62kg) 1989-02-08 Gonzaga 12
G/F 13   Willoughby, Jocelyn 6' 0" (1.83m) 180 lb (82kg) 1998-03-25 Virginia 2
C 21   Xu, Han 6' 10" (2.08m) 193 lb (88kg) 10-31-1999 China 2
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

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Pos. Starter Bench
PG Courtney Vandersloot
SG Sabrina Ionescu Marine Johannès
SF Betnijah Laney Kayla Thornton
Jocelyn Willoughby
PF Breanna Stewart Nyara Sabally
C Jonquel Jones Stefanie Dolson
Han Xu
2023 Las Vegas Aces roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 1   Bell, Kierstan 6' 1" (1.85m) 176 lb (80kg) 03-16-2000 Florida Gulf Coast 1
F 7   Clark, Alysha 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-07-1987 Middle Tennessee 10
C 81   Coates, Alaina 6' 4" (1.93m) 225 lb (102kg) 04-07-1995 South Carolina 4
G 51   Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M 8
F/C 13   George, Cayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 05-01-1989 Australia 3
G 12   Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 1992-10-08 Duke 8
F/C 3   Parker, Candace   6' 4" (1.93m) 184 lb (83kg) 1986-04-19 Tennessee 15
G 10   Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) 1994-08-24 Washington 5
C 41   Stokes, Kiah 6' 3" (1.91m) 191 lb (87kg) 1993-03-30 Connecticut 7
G 2   Williams, Riquna 5' 6" (1.68m) 165 lb (75kg) 1990-05-28 Miami (FL) 10
F 22   Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m) 195 lb (88kg) 1996-08-08 South Carolina 5
G 0   Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-09-16 Notre Dame 4
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
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Depth Chart

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Pos. Starter Bench
PG Chelsea Gray Sydney Colson
SG Kelsey Plum Riquna Williams 
SF Jackie Young Alysha Clark
Kierstan Bell
PF Candace Parker  Cayla George
C A'ja Wilson Kiah Stokes

References

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  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.
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