The 2022 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, with the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky set to face off in what could serve as a preview for the WNBA Finals.

The two teams have split their two regular-season meetings this year, each winning on the opposing team’s home court. While the Aces dominated the first quarter in their most recent matchup on June 21, Chicago staged the largest comeback in league history to take the win.

With the teams holding steady atop the league standings, the Commissioner’s Cup championship game promises to be a must-watch contest.

Why Chicago will win

The Chicago Sky are the league’s best team, with the record (21-7) and the stats (tops in the WNBA in effective field-goal percentage) to back it up.

The Sky will win the Commissioner’s Cup because they play the team game better than anyone else. No single player stands out in terms of scoring: Kahleah Copper is the team’s highest scorer at 14.7 points per game but ranks 20th in the league. Candace Parker has been a triple-double machine this season, but she ranks 25th with 13.4 points per game, while 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman is 32nd with 12.7.

Yet while Chicago may not have gaudy point totals, the team leads the league in assists with 24 per game. Courtney Vandersloot ranks second in the league with 6.2 per game.

“A win for one is a win for all with us,” Sky coach James Wade said on the Chicago State of Mind podcast this week. “That’s how it is. Just like a 20-point game [by one player] is a 20-point game for all. And that’s how we looked at it. I’m telling you, those players deserve a lot of credit because they don’t have to be that way. But they are, because they all want to win so bad and they know that if you’re like that, that helps it.”

The Sky have won eight of their last 10, though they’re coming off of a loss to the New York Liberty. The loss came in their third game in four days, and they also faced flight delays on their way to New York. But take this into consideration: The Sky have yet to lose back-to-back games this season.

Consistency has been the key for Chicago as it looks to win its second straight WNBA title, and that will remain true Tuesday as the Sky look to win the Commissioner’s Cup.

Why Las Vegas will win

Before Chicago took over the top spot in the league standings, Las Vegas owned that distinction. But prior to the All-Star Game, the Aces looked a bit lost, losing five of seven. They’ve since righted the ship and have won their last two, as well as six of their last 10.

The Aces also currently boast three of the league’s top 10 scorers. Kelsey Plum leads the way with 20.1 points per game, followed by A’ja Wilson (19.4) in fifth and Jackie Young (16.3) in 10th. Wilson ranks second in the league in rebounds (9.7 per game), while Chelsea Gray ranks fourth in assists (6.1 per game).

As the best offensive team in the WNBA – Las Vegas leads the league in points per game (90.4) – the Aces have the power to overtake Chicago. They’re also a better team on the road than at home, with a 10-3 road record.

“Actually, we’ve been better on the road than at home, so hopefully that trend continues,” coach Becky Hammon said. “I have to do a good job of getting them the proper rest vs. keeping them sharp. We are literally making a whole circle around the United States. It hits every team at some point. But I think the road has been good for us with that foxhole mentality.”

The only question for the Aces is their defense. But Hammon called Saturday’s 84-66 win against the Los Angeles Sparks one of the team’s better all-around defensive efforts.

Watch the Sky and the Aces face off in the Commissioner’s Cup final at 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on Amazon Prime.

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

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Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

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Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."