The WNBA made another piece of history in addition to the festivities surrounding its 25th anniversary season, with the inaugural Commissioner's Cup competition taking place on Aug. 12, 2021. The Seattle Storm defeated the Connecticut Sun, 79-57, to claim the first Commissioner's Cup hardware.
The Commissioner's Cup is an in-season competition that designates a portion of regular-season games in the first half of the season -- 10 per team, 60 total -- to count toward Cup standings. The Cup will have prize money of $500,000.
The Cup games were the first home game and first road game each team played against its five conference rivals. The standings then determined an Eastern Conference team and a Western Conference team to meet for the championship.
The championship game pairing was decided July 9. The Connecticut Sun secured the Eastern Conference spot with their 84-72 victory over the Atlanta Dream. The Seattle Storm also clinched a spot in the championship by virtue of their record and the Minnesota Lynx's victory over the Las Vegas Aces.
Updated Commissioner's Cup standings through games played July 11:
