The WNBA began its in-season event, the Commissioner’s Cup, in 2021, earlier than the NBA created a cup of its personal. The premise was simple: enable groups to earn more cash throughout the season whereas additionally supporting native charitable organizations by a pleasant competitors.
Like most new initiatives, the primary yr noticed a little bit of confusion. Every staff’s first residence and away sport towards each single staff within the league was a Cup sport, after which the East and West groups with the most effective file in these video games made it to the Ultimate. Whereas the entire preliminary video games counted as regular-season video games, the Ultimate didn’t.
In recent times, they’ve modified the principles. Now, there’s a two-week interval in June the place each sport on the schedule is a Cup sport, after which the most effective East and West groups in that interval of the schedule make the ultimate. What has not modified, although, is the truth that all 13 groups within the WNBA select a charitable group to help throughout the event.
Each time a staff wins throughout Cup video games, cash is donated to their group. As soon as two groups make the Ultimate sport, cash can also be donated to the profitable staff and the second-place staff. The profitable staff additionally wins a $500,000 prize pool to separate amongst gamers. There’s additionally $120,000 of cryptocurrency offered by Coinbase ($5,000 for every participant) for everybody within the Finals sport.
With the event already began, the league has introduced the 13 organizations that groups have chosen to help. The Las Vegas Aces acquired backlash on social media for his or her option to help the Anti-Defamation League in Nevada, a corporation that has been criticized for the rhetoric they’re utilizing in regards to the conflict in Palestine.
For this season’s Commissioner’s Cup, we’ve got chosen @ADLDesert for its “No House For Hate” initiative, which displays the @WNBA‘s values of justice, fairness, inclusion, equality, and group empowerment. pic.twitter.com/aqIz5vyu3n
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 1, 2025
The Aces have since deleted all their social media posts saying the transfer, however it stays to be seen if that was due to a change of their alternative or only a want to keep away from dialogue of it. The blurb saying their official choice on the WNBA’s web site remains to be up.
When requested in regards to the staff’s alternative of group, head coach Becky Hammon stated she didn’t know something about it and hadn’t requested. Whether or not that’s true or not, her response proves that the WNBA continues to have bother each educating their coaches and gamers about how the event works, but additionally getting them excited and invested within the course of.
The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup begins right this moment.
“I do not know. I have never heard, I have never requested,” Becky Hammon stated when requested what she may say in regards to the charity the Aces selected and why.
The staff introduced this morning that it is supporting the ADL (Anti-Defamation League).
— Callie Fin (@CallieJLaw) June 1, 2025
Listed below are the organizations the opposite 12 groups within the WNBA have chosen to help throughout the Commissioner’s Cup. All acknowledged charity missions are by way of the WNBA web site.
Atlanta Dream: Middle for Black Girls’s Wellness
Mission: To enhance the well being and well-being of underserved Black girls and their households.
Serving the Atlanta space for 36 years, the Middle for Black Girls’s Wellness fights to make sure girls have entry to healthcare. They focus not solely on bodily well being, however psychological, emotional and monetary well being as properly. They need girls to not simply survive, however thrive in all facets of life. They supply girls with no medical health insurance care on a sliding scale, together with all the things from Pap Checks, labs, household planning, examinations, breast exams, psychological well being remedy and extra. Additionally they have each a Maternal and Little one Well being program in addition to an Financial Self-Sufficiency Program.
Chicago Sky: BUILD, Inc.
Mission: To encourage hope and provide alternatives for youth dealing with systemic obstacles to attain optimistic futures.
BUILD, Inc works with Chicago youth to interrupt the cycle of violence and assist them plan for a extra optimistic future. They’re a “nationally revered gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth improvement group engaged on Chicago’s West Aspect.” BUILD holds all the things from after-school applications, mentorship, summer time camps, and extra to create probabilities for these youngsters to have enjoyable and be concerned with enriching actions. The aim is each to maintain youngsters out of dangerous circles and gangs, but additionally to assist them heal after they could have been concerned in or uncovered to violence.
Connecticut Solar: ACLU Connecticut
Mission: To keep up and promote civil liberties and civil rights all through the USA and notably inside the state of Connecticut.
ACLU Connecticut is the native department of the American Civil Liberties Union, defending, selling and increasing civil rights within the state. They do all the things from litigation to group organizing, civic engagement and training. ACLU is non-partisan and works on its six core values of anti-racism, dignity, variety, fairness, inclusivity, and companions in justice.
Dallas Wings: Unity Limitless, Inc
Mission: Offering academic actions and sources to folks, younger and outdated, to foster unity and concord inside the group, the town, the state, the nation and the world no matter race, tradition or denomination.
Unity Limitless, Inc creates programming geared toward overcoming racial and cultural division and fostering concord amongst folks. Examples embrace a farming initiative that teaches folks the best way to domesticate their very own meals sources, Juneteenth training and celebration, scholarships, sources for entrepreneurs, and extra.
Golden State Valkyries: Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
Mission: Construct group and mobilize younger leaders within the motion to finish youth criminalization and mass incarceration.
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, or CURYJ (pron. Braveness), works to liberate youth from the disempowerment that comes with youth incarceration. Their programming places youth on the entrance of remodeling communities and serving to one another heal from trauma whereas studying the abilities and instruments wanted to thrive in life. The group goals to finish youth incarceration in California by 2030.
Indiana Fever: Peace Studying Middle
Mission: Peace Studying Middle facilitates group studying that acts as a catalyst for peace.
Peace Studying Middle goals to carry communities collectively to teach and promote peace. They work on the three pillars of wellness: ability constructing, belonging, and restorative practices. What began as programming aimed to show youth about battle decision has grown into programming for all ages. They maintain seminars, actions, camps, faculty applications and extra for Indiana communities.
Los Angeles Sparks: Social Justice Companions LA
Mission: Put money into, develop, and join communities advancing racial & social justice.
Social Justice Companions LA works to deal with root causes of racial, financial and social injustice within the Los Angeles space. Beginning with training and rising into motion, SJPLA’s programming entails fellowships, homelessness initiatives, on-line programs for folks to find out about social justice points, and therapeutic practices for these preventing to revive justice to communities.
Minnesota Lynx: ACLU Minnesota
Mission: Shield the civil liberties of all Minnesotans by litigation, public training, and lobbying.
Just like the Connecticut Department, ACLU Minnesota fights for the civil liberties of individuals within the state. Their values embrace advocacy for freedom of expression, fairness/justice understanding, widespread humanity, inclusive democracy, group engagement, and variety.
New York Liberty: Ladies for Gender Equality
Mission: GGE works intergenerationally, by a Black feminist lens, to middle the management of Black ladies and gender-expansive younger folks of colour in reshaping tradition and coverage by advocacy, youth-centered programming, and narrative shift to attain gender and racial justice.
Ladies for Gender Equality was initially created to assist ladies have higher entry to sports activities and health, and later expanded to incorporate extra initiatives below the umbrella of making equality. They now focus drastically on ending violence towards women and girls by educating youth and offering alternatives for Black ladies and gender-expansive youth to steer. They work by a mix of coverage change, youth-led programming, and tradition change work.
Phoenix Mercury: YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix
Mission: Get rid of racism, empower girls, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix works to empower girls of all ages, races and ethnicities to assist obtain equality. They do social justice work and anti-racism programming, management ability constructing, programming to create group for seniors, and attempt to instigate change by advocacy.
Seattle Storm: City League of Metropolitan Seattle
Mission: To empower Black and different traditionally underserved folks to thrive for generations by social and financial justice.
City League of Metropolitan Seattle makes use of advocacy, programming, group outreach and coalition constructing to advertise seven pillars: housing, training, workforce improvement, public well being, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and monetary empowerment. They create programming to assist households deal with challenges, encouraging self-sufficiency in all facets of life. Additionally they function a liaison between the group and native companies, authorities, and different organizations that share concern for the welfare of the Black group.
Washington Mystics: ACLU of DC
Mission: The ACLU of D.C. works with District residents and supporters of our imaginative and prescient to guard and advance civil liberties and civil rights by utilizing the instruments of public training, political advocacy, organizing, and litigation.
Just like the branches in Connecticut and Minnesota, the ACLU of DC works to guard the civil liberties of residents within the District. Particularly, they goal to create a group the place individuals are free from systemic governmental oppression and might train their energy to guard and develop civil rights. They work to ensure residents know their rights, and assist with felony justice reform, incapacity rights, due course of, equal safety, freedom of speech, and the rights of presidency staff, immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ group and extra.
