The WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup is supposed to be the crown jewel of the league’s regular season. In December, commissioner Cathy Engelbert touted the new format — a condensed two-week qualifying tournament — would add excitement and urgency. With a $500,000 payout to the winning team, each player’s bonus for winning the cup (around $40,000) will be nearly four times more than winning the WNBA Finals (around $11,000).
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Yet on Monday, eight days before the Commissioner’s Cup title game between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA announced it is moving the contest to UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. The Liberty, who went 5-0 in qualifying rounds and were set to host at Barclays Center, couldn’t hold it at their usual arena because the NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26 and 27.
Barring an emergency, name another showcase game in another sport that’s been moved on such short notice.
Who Will Be Crowned? 👑
Can the @nyliberty defend their title, or will the @minnesotalynx capture their first Commissioner’s Cup Championship
Find out on June 25 as the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by @coinbase takes place in UBS Arena at 8pm/ET! Watch on @PrimeVideo.
🎟️… pic.twitter.com/QtKZmE4av9
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 17, 2024
The problem with the change goes well beyond making fans schlep to a new venue an hour away from where they expected to attend the event. It’s a reminder that the WNBA, more than it cares to publicly admit, has fumbled some recent celebratory moments.
Let’s start with the double-booking.
The NBA settled on Barclays Center for its two-day event long before the Commissioner’s Cup title date was announced. The WNBA knew this. They share office space.
The potential need for a new venue loomed for months. Keeping the event in New York was a bet the WNBA seemed willing to take, even knowing the Liberty won last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, and entering this season as one of the Eastern Conference favorites. The Liberty also alerted the WNBA to the potential conflict upon the release of the tournament’s new schedule in December, a person familiar with the situation told The Athletic.
The gamble didn’t pay off.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement that the draft “created an unavoidable conflict for use” of Barclays Center. But an NBA-WNBA arena scheduling conflict feels as self-inflicted (and initially avoidable) as one can get.
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The logistics involved in holding a draft might actually outweigh simply moving a game. The draft requires a multi-day preparation, and it has taken place at Barclays Center since 2013 aside from in 2020. The WNBA was aware of all of this when the Cup’s final date was decided. Perhaps an easier route would be the WNBA not selecting June 25.
Or perhaps the WNBA could have scheduled a game in a possible expansion market? Maybe Golden State or Toronto as “Welcome to the WNBA” events. Or perhaps it could have taken the game to other potential expansion cities like Portland, Nashville or Denver.
WNBA fans could have mapped out the logistics and traveled for it, much like NBA fans did with the in-season tournament Final Four in Las Vegas in December. That would have been a way to avoid Monday’s PR mess.
The decision is another sign that the NBA holds the cards in the dynamic. Simply put, the NBA’s showcase event took priority over the WNBA’s.
More than that, however, the last-minute decision to move the game makes it hard to view the Commissioner’s Cup as a truly premier event. The payout is sizable, yes, (presenting sponsor Coinbase has committed another $120,000 in cryptocurrency with $5,000 guaranteed for each player participating in the final, and there is a significant charity component too), but money shouldn’t wash over issues — or the WNBA’s continued shortcomings around major news.
What happened is just the latest fumbling of otherwise WNBA highlights.
The long-anticipated victory of season-long charter travel this season came with a qualifier in its last-minute reveal of the change, which caught players and WNBA general managers off guard and forced teams to quickly alter previous arrangements.
All-Star weekends have featured stumbles, too. Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum’s tiny All-Star Game MVP trophy in 2022 became a viral joke. That same weekend, the WNBA instituted a fan festival, but closed some events, such as a concert, to the public. Fans were also unable to attend the All-Star 3-point and skills competition which occurred at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center and not in Wintrust Arena because, the WNBA noted, a cookware convention was using the Sky’s home arena. Even a recent championship celebration was marred because the Aces’ opening night in 2023 was delayed.
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Too often easy wins have become pain-points.
The Commissioner’s Cup situation was no different, which is why the venue change is important.
Yes, alternatives were considered. The Liberty offered to play their already scheduled regular-season game against the Lynx at Barclays Center on July 2 as the Commissioner’s Cup championship, a source familiar with the situation said. The Lynx declined that option, a source confirmed, and are now playing at a more neutral site as a result.
Minnesota said in a statement: “Both the league and the Liberty knew of the Barclays conflict for the Commissioner’s Cup date and have had ample time to resolve.”
That’s true, and the Lynx seem OK with the outcome. Who could blame them for wanting to diminish New York’s home-court advantage?
Next week, a basketball game (probably a good one between championship contenders with a combined 22-5 record) will still be played. Hardware will be awarded, and cash will be rewarded. A venue change is by no means the biggest travesty in WNBA history. But it is indicative of a recent trend of hiccups.
Perhaps that’s part of the excitement Engelbert was referring to. That in the WNBA you truly have no idea what is going to happen next.
(Photo by Catalina Fragoso / NBAE via Getty Images)