2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup

2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game
Cup Final
Indiana Fever Minnesota Lynx
(4-1) (5-1)
74 59
Head coach:
Stephanie White
Head coach:
Cheryl Reeve
1234 Total
Indiana Fever 12202022 74
Minnesota Lynx 2071517 59
Date
  • Regular Season: June 1-17, 2024
  • Championship: July 1, 2025
Venue
MVPNatasha Howard (IND)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by Coinbase) was the WNBA's fifth Commissioner's Cup in league history. The Cup featured a transition away from the eleven-game format to a five-game format in the Eastern Conference and six-game format in the Western Conference, with six teams in the Eastern Conference and seven in the Western Conference. The best team in cup play from each conference faced off in a championship game.[1] The Cup was won by the Indiana Fever, the franchise's first Commissioner's Cup.[2][3]

Format

The team with the best record in cup games from each conference played in the championship game against each other, with the team having the best record hosting the game. This season, the cup shifted to a five-game per team format instead of the previous ten games per team. All games were played between June 1 and June 17, 2025.

Funding to local non-profits

Each team selects a charity of their choice to represent, and support throughout the Commissioner's Cup series.[4]

Team Charity Donation Total
Atlanta Dream Center for Black Women's Wellness $11,000
Chicago Sky K.W.O.E. Foundation $7,000
Connecticut Sun ACLU of Connecticut Foundation $7,000
Dallas Wings Unity Unlimited, Inc. $8,000
Golden State Valkyries Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice $12,000
Indiana Fever Peace Learning Center $23,000[5]
Las Vegas Aces Anti-Defamation League – Nevada (ADL Nevada) $10,000
Los Angeles Sparks Social Justice Partners LA $10,000
Minnesota Lynx ACLU of Minnesota $21,000
New York Liberty Girls For Gender Equity $13,000
Phoenix Mercury YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix $14,000
Seattle Storm Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle $14,000
Washington Mystics ACLU of D.C. $9,000

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD GB Qualification IND[6] NYL ATL WAS CHI CON
1 Indiana Fever[6] 5 4 1 412 364 +48 Advance to Championship Game 102–88 58–77 85–76 79–52 88–71
2 New York Liberty 5 4 1 445 379 +66 88–102 86–81 86–78 85–66 100–52
3 Atlanta Dream 5 3 2 411 354 +57 1 77–58 81–86 89–56 88–70 76–84
4 Washington Mystics 5 2 3 393 399 −6 2 76–85 78–86 56–89 79–72 104–67
5 Chicago Sky 5 1 4 338 397 −59 3 52–79 66–85 70–88 72–79 78–66
6 Connecticut Sun 5 1 4 340 446 −106 3 71–88 52–100 84–76 67–104 66–78
Updated to match(es) played on June 17, 2025. Source: WNBA

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD GB Qualification MIN SEA PHX GSV LAS LVA DAL
1 Minnesota Lynx 6 5 1 516 439 +77 Advance to Championship Game 84–94 88–65 86–75 101–78 76–62 81–65
2 Seattle Storm 6 4 2 504 456 +48 1 94–84 89–77 70–76 98–67 70–75 83–77
3 Phoenix Mercury 6 4 2 482 484 −2 1 65–88 77–89 86–77 85–80 76–70 93–80
4 Golden State Valkyries 6 3 3 483 471 +12 2 75–86 76–70 77–86 89–81 (OT) 95–68 71–80
5 Los Angeles Sparks 6 2 4 496 541 −45 3 78–101 67–98 80–85 81–89 (OT) 97–89 93–79
6 Las Vegas Aces 6 2 4 452 498 −46 3 62–76 75–70 70–76 68–95 89–97 88–84
7 Dallas Wings 6 1 5 465 509 −44 4 65–81 77–83 80–93 80–71 79–93 84–88
Updated to match(es) played on June 17, 2025. Source: WNBA

Championship game summary

July 1, 2025
8:00 p.m. ET
Indiana Fever 74, Minnesota Lynx 59
Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 32–27, 52–42, 74–59
Pts: Natasha Howard (16)
Rebs: Natasha Howard (12)
Asts: Aliyah Boston (6)
Pts: Alanna Smith (15)
Rebs: Napheesa Collier (9)
Asts: Courtney Williams (4)
Target Center, Minneapolis,Minnesota
Attendance: 12,778
Referees:
Roy Gulbeyan
Tiara Cruse
Isaac Barnett

Team rosters

Indiana Fever

2025 Indiana Fever roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
F/C7Boston, Aliyah6' 5" (1.96m)220 lb (100kg)2001-12-11South Carolina2
G22Clark, Caitlin 6' 0" (1.83m)157 lb (71kg)2002-01-22Iowa1
G51Colson, Sydney5' 8" (1.73m)137 lb (62kg)1989-08-06Texas A&M10
G8Cunningham, Sophie6' 1" (1.85m)165 lb (75kg)1996-08-16Missouri6
F/C12Dantas, Damiris (S)6' 4" (1.93m)214 lb (97kg)1992-11-17Brazil9
F6Howard, Natasha6' 3" (1.91m)172 lb (78kg)1991-09-02Florida State11
G10Hull, Lexie6' 1" (1.85m)155 lb (70kg)1999-09-13Stanford3
G15McDonald, Aari5' 6" (1.68m)141 lb (64kg)1998-08-20Arizona4
G0Mitchell, Kelsey5' 8" (1.73m)155 lb (70kg)1995-11-12Ohio State7
F/C21Timpson, Makayla6' 2" (1.88m)173 lb (78kg)2002-09-20Florida StateR
F/C11Turner, Brianna6' 3" (1.91m)175 lb (79kg)1996-07-05Notre Dame6
GWallace, Kristy (S)5' 11" (1.8m)157 lb (71kg)1996-01-03Baylor3
Head coach
Stephanie White (Purdue)
Assistant coaches
Briann January (Arizona State)
Karima Christmas-Kelly (Duke)
Austin Kelly (Duke)
Player development
Keith Porter (Connecticut Avery Point)
Athletic trainer
Todd Champlin (Daemen)
Assistant trainer
Alexis Gholston (Sacramento State)
Strength and conditioning coach
Sarah Kessler (Queensland)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Minnesota Lynx

2025 Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F6Carleton, Bridget6' 2" (1.88m)177 lb (80kg)1997-05-22Iowa State6
F24Collier, Napheesa6' 1" (1.85m)180 lb (82kg)1996-09-23Connecticut6
G2Hiedeman, Natisha5' 8" (1.73m)132 lb (60kg)1997-02-10Marquette6
C77Kliundikova, Maria6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg)1998-07-16Russia2
F7Kosu, Anastasiia6' 1" (1.85m)190 lb (86kg)2005-04-21RussiaR
G21McBride, Kayla5' 11" (1.8m)179 lb (81kg)1992-06-25Notre Dame11
G1Miller, Diamond6' 3" (1.91m)178 lb (81kg)2001-02-11Maryland2
F35Pili, Alissa5' 11" (1.8m)235 lb (107kg)2001-06-08Utah1
G44Samuelson, Karlie 6' 0" (1.83m)162 lb (73kg)1995-05-10Stanford6
F15Shepard, Jessica6' 4" (1.93m)175 lb (79kg)1996-09-11Notre Dame4
F8Smith, Alanna6' 4" (1.93m)177 lb (80kg)1996-09-10Stanford6
G10Williams, Courtney5' 8" (1.73m)148 lb (67kg)1994-05-11South Florida9
G/FGriffin, Aubrey  (DP)6' 1" (1.85m)2001-11-06Connecticut
FHirsch, Maïa (DP)6' 5" (1.96m)2003-11-13France
G/FJuhász, Dorka (S)6' 5" (1.96m)201 lb (91kg)1999-12-18Connecticut2
Head coach
Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
Elaine Powell (LSU)
Eric Thibault (Missouri)
Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota)
Athletic trainer
Chuck Barta (UW–La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
Brandi BlueArm (Minnesota State)
Strength and conditioning coach
Andrea Hayden (Missouri Baptist)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

References

  1. ^ "About the 2025 Cup". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ^ "MVP Natasha Howard leads Fever to Commissioner's Cup win vs. Lynx". ESPN. July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. ^ Maloney, Jack (July 2, 2025). "Fever vs. Lynx score: How Indiana stunned Minnesota to win Commissioner's Cup despite Caitlin Clark's absence". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  4. ^ "Community Organizations". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  5. ^ Schwentker, Lauren (July 2, 2025). "Indiana Fever's Commissioner's Cup win fuels $23K gift to Peace Learning Center". WRTV. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  6. ^ Boyd, James; Merchant, Sabreena (June 17, 2025). "Caitlin Clark in scuffle as Fever advance to Commissioner's Cup final: Takeaways". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2025.