WNBA Commissioner's Cup Bumped By NBA Draft
The WNBA is changing venues for a marquee game once again. However, unlike many of the other instances this season, it isn’t due to increased demand this time around, but due to a conflict with the NBA Draft.
The Commissioner’s Cup Championship between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx will not be played at the Barclays Center, the Liberty’s typical home arena. That is because Barclays is unavailable on June 25th given it is home to the previously mentioned NBA Draft, which is scheduled there on the 26th. As a result, the Cup winner will be decided at UBS Arena in Belmont Park.
New York, who of course fell to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals a season ago, hope to repeat as Commissioner’s Cup champions even if they are being bumped from their usual location. The Liberty have been rolling behind the trio of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones having won eight games in a row, including a Finals rematch that left Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson emotional.
Meanwhile, the Lynx come into the contest led by Napheesa Collier who is averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds a game in making her own case for Most Valuable Player thus far.
The game will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video so most won’t be inconvenienced by the move, even if beloved mascot Ellie the Elephant has to make the trek out of Brooklyn in order to see the Liberty attempt to hoist a trophy on a slightly less home court for the squad.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!