Here's everything we know about the WNBA's Commissioner's Cup venue selection drama.
The 2024 WNBA season hasn’t hit the halfway point yet, and there’s already another possible controversy. First, it was the fumbled charter flight rollout. Then, the Aces’ mysterious $100,000 player sponsorships had league circles abuzz. Now, the league may have bungled the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup schedule.
Multiple outlets are reporting that this year’s Commissioner’s Cup championship game featuring the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty on June 25 has been moved to UBS Arena in Elmont, New York — an hour away from the Barclays Center the Liberty call home.
The WNBA originally wanted the Commissioner’s Cup to be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There’s just one problem — the June 26 NBA Draft was already scheduled for the following day.
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.
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 17, 2024
Here’s everything we know about how the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup venue change went down:
ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reports that the Liberty alerted the WNBA about the potential arena conflict when the league released the tournament’s new format and schedule in December 2023.
New York was concerned about the NBA Draft being held at the Barclays Center and the multiple days it would take to set up. According to Phillipou, the WNBA told the Liberty at the time that they would be responsible for finding an alternate venue.
However, Joe Pantorno of amNewYork reveals a slightly different story. Pantorno explained that the league and the Liberty are “at odds” because the WNBA “ignored” New York’s inquiry into the possible conflict.
Pantorno reported that earlier in June, New York went to the league again but was told by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert that they would have to play on the court of the Western Conference representative — the Minnesota Lynx — despite earning home-court advantage.
New York allegedly offered to make its July 2 matchup count as the Commissioner’s Cup championship, but the Lynx declined. The Liberty also considered possibly moving a June 23 road game against the Atlanta Dream to accommodate the time it would take to set up the event at Barclays, but that option didn’t work out either.
We’ll update this story further as more information becomes available.
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