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 easy: permit groups to earn more cash throughout the season whereas additionally supporting native charitable organizations by means of a pleasant competitors.
Like most new initiatives, the primary 12 months noticed a little bit of confusion. Every workforce’s first house and away sport in opposition to each single workforce within the league was a Cup sport, after which the East and West groups with the perfect file in these video games made it to the Remaining. Whereas the entire preliminary video games counted as regular-season video games, the Remaining didn’t.
Lately, they’ve modified the foundations. Now, there’s a two-week interval in June the place each sport on the schedule is a Cup sport, after which the perfect 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 workforce wins throughout Cup video games, cash is donated to their group. As soon as two groups make the Remaining sport, cash can also be donated to the successful workforce and the second-place workforce. The successful workforce additionally wins a $500,000 prize pool to separate amongst gamers. There may be additionally $120,000 of cryptocurrency supplied 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 obtained backlash on social media for his or her option to help the Anti-Defamation League in Nevada, a company that has been criticized for the rhetoric they’re utilizing concerning the battle in Palestine.
For this season’s Commissioner’s Cup, we’ve 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 asserting the transfer, but it surely stays to be seen if that was due to a change of their selection or only a need to keep away from dialogue of it. The blurb asserting their official choice on the WNBA’s web site remains to be up.
When requested concerning the workforce’s selection 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 hassle each educating their coaches and gamers about how the event works, but in addition getting them excited and invested within the course of.
The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup begins immediately.
“I do not know. I have not heard, I have not requested,” Becky Hammon stated when requested what she might say concerning the charity the Aces selected and why.
The workforce introduced this morning that it is supporting the ADL (Anti-Defamation League).
— Callie Fin (@CallieJLaw) June 1, 2025
Listed here are the organizations the opposite 12 groups within the WNBA have chosen to help throughout the Commissioner’s Cup. All acknowledged charity missions are through the WNBA web site.
Atlanta Dream: Heart for Black Girls’s Wellness
Mission: To enhance the well being and well-being of underserved Black ladies and their households.
Serving the Atlanta space for 36 years, the Heart for Black Girls’s Wellness fights to make sure ladies have entry to healthcare. They focus not solely on bodily well being, however psychological, emotional and monetary well being as effectively. They need ladies to not simply survive, however thrive in all facets of life. They supply ladies with no medical insurance care on a sliding scale, together with all the things from Pap Assessments, 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 supply alternatives for youth going through systemic obstacles to attain constructive futures.
BUILD, Inc works with Chicago youth to interrupt the cycle of violence and assist them plan for a extra constructive future. They’re a “nationally revered gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth improvement group engaged on Chicago’s West Facet.” BUILD holds all the things from after-school packages, mentorship, summer season camps, and extra to create probabilities for these children to have enjoyable and be concerned with enriching actions. The aim is each to maintain children out of dangerous circles and gangs, but in addition to assist them heal after they could have been concerned in or uncovered to violence.
Connecticut Solar: ACLU Connecticut
Mission: To take care of and promote civil liberties and civil rights all through the USA and notably throughout 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, range, fairness, inclusivity, and companions in justice.
Dallas Wings: Unity Limitless, Inc
Mission: Offering instructional actions and assets to individuals, younger and previous, to foster unity and concord throughout the group, 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 individuals. Examples embody a farming initiative that teaches individuals tips on how to domesticate their very own meals sources, Juneteenth training and celebration, scholarships, assets 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 reworking communities and serving to one another heal from trauma whereas studying the talents and instruments wanted to thrive in life. The group goals to finish youth incarceration in California by 2030.
Indiana Fever: Peace Studying Heart
Mission: Peace Studying Heart facilitates group studying that acts as a catalyst for peace.
Peace Studying Heart goals to deliver communities collectively to teach and promote peace. They work on the three pillars of wellness: talent 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 packages and extra for Indiana communities.
Los Angeles Sparks: Social Justice Companions LA
Mission: Put money into, increase, 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 individuals to study social justice points, and therapeutic practices for these combating to revive justice to communities.
Minnesota Lynx: ACLU Minnesota
Mission: Defend the civil liberties of all Minnesotans by means of litigation, public training, and lobbying.
Much like the Connecticut Department, ACLU Minnesota fights for the civil liberties of individuals within the state. Their values embody advocacy for freedom of expression, fairness/justice understanding, frequent humanity, inclusive democracy, group engagement, and variety.
New York Liberty: Women for Gender Equality
Mission: GGE works intergenerationally, by means of a Black feminist lens, to middle the management of Black ladies and gender-expansive younger individuals of shade in reshaping tradition and coverage by means of advocacy, youth-centered programming, and narrative shift to attain gender and racial justice.
Women for Gender Equality was initially created to assist ladies have higher entry to sports activities and health, and later expanded to incorporate extra initiatives underneath the umbrella of making equality. They now focus significantly on ending violence in opposition to women and girls by educating youth and offering alternatives for Black ladies and gender-expansive youth to steer. They work by means of a mixture of coverage change, youth-led programming, and tradition change work.
Phoenix Mercury: YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix
Mission: Remove racism, empower ladies, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix works to empower ladies of all ages, races and ethnicities to assist obtain equality. They do social justice work and anti-racism programming, management talent constructing, programming to create group for seniors, and attempt to instigate change by means of advocacy.
Seattle Storm: City League of Metropolitan Seattle
Mission: To empower Black and different traditionally underserved individuals to thrive for generations by means of 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 address 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 intention to create a group the place persons are free from systemic governmental oppression and may train their energy to guard and increase civil rights. They work to verify residents know their rights, and assist with prison justice reform, incapacity rights, due course of, equal safety, freedom of speech, and the rights of presidency staff, immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ group and extra.
