The WNBA Commissioner's Cup is back with its 2025 edition, as the annual in-season tournament raises both stakes and incentives across the league.
Winning percentage, point differential, and head-to-head records all factor in as both Eastern and Western Conference teams battle it out for a shot at the competition's $500,000 prize pool.
Launched in 2021, the Commissioner’s Cup runs concurrently with the regular season, drawing on in-conference matchups to build a team's overall Cup record.
The 2025 competition opened on June 1st, tipping off three straight weeks of conference play that will culminate in a July 1st championship final between the Eastern and Western Conference winners.
Last season's final foreshadowed the eventual WNBA Finals, as the Minnesota Lynx topped New York to lift the 2024 Commissioner's Cup before the Liberty enacted revenge by taking the 2024 Championship a few months later.
Hoping to lift both trophies this season, New York started the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup party with a 48-point statement win over the Connecticut Sun last Sunday.
How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games
Every WNBA game on Tuesday will have Cup stakes, starting with the Washington Mystics' visit to the Indiana Fever at 7 PM ET on NBATV.
Then at 8 PM ET, the Minnesota Lynx will host the Phoenix Mercury, airing on ESPN3, before the Dallas Wings close out Tuesday's slate in Seattle against the Storm at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN.
While the undefeated New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx look down from the top, Phoenix and Atlanta are shaping up to be the early season's biggest players, as the No. 3 Mercury and No. 4 Dream continue to climb the 2025 WNBA standings.
The Mercury topped the skidding LA Sparks 85-80 on Sunday to reach 5-2 on the season, while the Dream secured their own 5-2 record after Friday's 94-87 win over the Seattle Storm.
Atlanta and Phoenix made some of league's boldest offseason moves this year, as Mercury legend Brittney Griner joined the Dream in free agency while Phoenix picked up top talent in forwards Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally.
With Thomas nursing an injury, Sabally led Phoenix over LA behind a team-high 24 points on Sunday.
Griner's 15-point, eight-rebound performance helped Atlanta quiet the Dallas Wings 83-75 on May 24th, before established stars Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard combined for 61 points against Seattle.
Meanwhile at the bottom of the table, the Connecticut Sun registered their first victory of the 2025 season on Friday, edging out the injury-laden Indiana Fever to become the final WNBA team to enter the win column this season.
The Sun, however, came crashing back to Earth on Sunday, falling to the reigning champion Liberty by a steep 48-point margin on the first day of Commissioner's Cup play.
How to watch WNBA games this week
The Mercury are back in action in a road match against the Lynx at 8 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN3.
Following a full week of rest, the Dream will travel to Connecticut to take on the Sun at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ION.