What the Commissioner’s Cup Taught Us About the WNBA’s Superteams

In a potential Finals preview, the Liberty defeated the reigning champ Aces in their first matchup with serious hardware on the line.

The third annual Commissioner’s Cup was imbued with a different weight than the in-season tournaments of years past. Yes, there was a consequential $500,000 prize pool (which is nothing to scoff at) to play for, but superteam bragging rights were also at stake.

The Commissioner’s Cup trophy is headed to New York, with the Liberty swiping the crown from the Aces, defeating the reigning champions 82–63 in front of a Las Vegas crowd Tuesday.

Touted as WNBA title favorites since the preseason, many have forecasted an Aces-Liberty superteam showdown for the finals. Las Vegas and New York split results ahead of the Commissioner’s Cup, with the Aces beating the Liberty 98–81 in June before New York returned the favor with a 99–61 blowout over Las Vegas on Aug. 6. Hoisting the trophy, the Liberty solidified themselves as the giants to slay, holding the edge—at least until Thursday when the teams face off again in a regular-season matchup.

Plenty can be gleaned from the first meeting between the two superteams with hardware on the line, with this physical and roller-coaster ride of a Commissioner's Cup potentially a preview of the postseason.

Here’s what we learned about the WNBA’s superteams.

Candice Ward/USA TODAY Sports

Defense wins championships

Fourteen possessions went by before A’ja Wilson scored the first points of the Cup, with the Liberty’s and Aces’ typically high-octane offenses stifled by a mix of big-game tension and defensive intensity. Las Vegas shot an uncharacteristically dismal 19% in the opening frame, while the Liberty logged 36.8% from the floor. Those numbers improved, but only marginally, as both squads struggled to get their shots to fall. (The Aces finished shooting 33.3% from the field to the Liberty’s 40.6%.)

New York and Las Vegas both endured frigid cold streaks, including the Liberty’s late second-quarter drought that led to an 11–0 run from the Aces, propelling the hosts to a two-point lead heading into the half. Things swung in the other direction in the third frame, as New York charged to a 24–9 run, lifting the Liberty to a dominant second half.

Tough defense helped safeguard against each side’s dry spells, allowing the teams to weather the hot-and-cold storms while staying in the game (until New York’s definitive fourth-quarter explosion). Much has been made about Las Vegas’s and New York’s lethal offenses, but Tuesday’s game showed what happens when the superteams aren’t firing on all cylinders. Atop the league in defensive ratings—with the Sun sandwiched between top-ranked Aces and the Liberty—both teams know how to get stops.

Liberty’s bench can shoot

The Liberty bench is remarkably deep. Marine Johannès made that point abundantly clear Tuesday, logging a game-high 17 points, draining five of her attempted three-pointers. One of the biggest x-factors for New York, the French star acted as the difference-maker, knocking down back-to-back threes in the first quarter when the Liberty was desperately searching for momentum. Johannès was joined off the bench by Kayla Thornton, recording eight points and four rebounds, in a powerful showing from New York’s reserves. Sandy Brondello’s bench finished with 28 points compared to just eight bench points from Las Vegas, with the Liberty’s depth proving to be quite the riddle for opponents to solve.

“It just gives us more options,” Brondello said. “Marine knows how to put the ball in the hole. We want her to be aggressive, taking those shots. … We don’t want dips when we go to the bench.”

Aces are lethal downhill

Becky Hammon’s group looked most convincing when it was getting downhill, with Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray finding a lane to get past the Liberty’s disciplined defense. Those instances, which perhaps didn’t happen often enough, added an exasperating dimension to Las Vegas’s attack, disrupting the Liberty’s momentum. The Aces also found success getting out in transition, particularly in the first half, finding Wilson up the floor. With a rematch just a day away, expect Las Vegas to pick up the pace—and, hopefully, make more of their shots.

Wilson and Stewart aren’t the only MVPs

The matchup between Wilson and Breanna Stewart has been one of the most hyped rivalries in the league, and rightfully so. Both players are having MVP-caliber campaigns, with Stewart the first player in WNBA history to record three 40-point games in one season, and Wilson the only player to score 40 points in a game without making a three.

“I think it’s just great basketball being played,” Stewart said of Wilson. “And to see her continue to elevate her game and I’m continuing to elevate mine; we’re trying to change this league and really doing that as a tandem and continuing to do it together.”

Neither MVP candidate, however, played their best game Tuesday, with Stewart recording 13 points and seven rebounds.

Instead, a different Liberty starter stepped up: Commissioner’s Cup MVP Jonquel Jones. The Liberty forward earned the honor by notching an impressive 16 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. “I really didn’t know how many rebounds I had,” Jones said. “I was definitely a little shocked, but happy to win for the city, this team, and I’m happy we’re moving in the right direction.”

Jones’s presence on the glass can’t be overstated, consistently getting her side second chances, while shutting down Las Vegas in the paint. In her battle down low with Wilson, Jones was the clear winner, as the reigning WNBA MVP was held to just nine points and five rebounds. Jones, the other WNBA MVP on the floor aside from Wilson and Stewart, is hitting her stride at exactly the right time, bouncing back after a slow start to the year due to a lingering injury.

With the Liberty coming into form down the stretch of this WNBA season, Jones has distinguished herself as the secret sauce to New York’s stacked lineup.