WNBA 2022 Commissioner’s Cup Arrives With Enhanced Marketing, Political Activation
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 11:30AM By Barry Janoff
May 6, 2022: To coincide with the start of its 26th season, the WNBA said the second annual Commissioner’s Cup, this season presented by Coinbase, also begins this weekend with five games scheduled from May 6-8 during WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax.
As previously revealed, all WNBA games will support Brittney Griner, who is being detained in Russia, with a “BG 42” logo on-court.
Coinbase signed with the league this past October as the exclusive global cryptocurrency platform partner of the WNBA.
Among the enhancements from its inaugural run, the second in-season competition — which features 61 games — will for the first time hold its Championship Game in the home venue of the team with the highest winning percentage in Commissioner’s Cup play.
(A tie in winning percentages would be decided by cross-conference tie-breaker scenarios to determine the host team.)
Last year’s Commissioner’s Cup championship was held at a neutral site, with Seattle Storm defeating the Connecticut Sun, 79-57, in Phoenix’ Footprint Center.
Players will be competing for a prize pool of half a million dollars in the Championship Game, to again be streamed on Prime Video, scheduled for July 26.
Last year, the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game was played on Aug. 12, after the conclusion of the Olympics and prior to the resumption of the WNBA’s regular season schedule.
A new multi-media campaign, “WNBA 26: More Than Incredible,” highlights the Cup and 2022 season, including Griner as part of the creative.
In addition, the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase will feature a new political platform.
The league, 
WNBA teams and the WNBA Players Assn. said they would work together ahead of the 2022 midterm elections to “further promote the work the players have focused on by empowering communities through voter registration and voting rights education and advocacy.”
The league said that, led by the efforts of the joint WNBA-WNBPA Social Justice Council, the “WNBA family will implement a series of activations and initiatives that will encourage active participation in the civic process, including voter education, registration, and long-term engagement.”
The league and teams have collaborated to select organizations in each market that are tied to voting in the communities.
The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase is an in-season competition that designates ten regular-season conference games in the first half of the season as “Commissioner’s Cup games.”
According to the WNBA, “The event provides added incentive, with a half million dollars on the line for players, and offers fans enhanced conference rivalry competition through which to support their favorite teams.”
For each Commissioner’s Cup regular season game, the WNBA said it would donate $2,000 to the winning team’s chosen organization and an additional $500 to the losing team’s chosen organization.
For the Championship Game, the league will also donate $10,000 to the winning team’s organization and $5,000 to the organization of the runner-up.
The accumulated donation dollars will be presented to each organization at the conclusion of the Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase.
In addition to receiving monetary donations, these organizations will be spotlighted in arena and across the league’s social media platforms throughout Commissioner’s Cup play. See full list below.
All 61 Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase will be shown by six WNBA media partners: Prime Video, ABC-ESPN networks, CBS Television Network/CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, Facebook and Twitter.
All Commissioner’s Cup games will also be available on demand on League Pass approximately three hours after the game.
Brittney GrinerThe full Commissioner’s Cup presented by Coinbase standing will be tracked on a Coimmissioner’s Cup Hub.
The full 2022 WNBA scheduled can be found here.
Donations to 12 charitable and civic organizations, designated by each of the league’s 12 teams, will benefit from this year’s series.
The organizations include:
• Atlanta Dream: The King Center
• Chicago Sky: My Block. My Hood. My City.
• Connecticut Sun: League of Women Voters of Connecticut
• Dallas Wings: This Is Project Texas
• Indiana Fever: Indiana Black Expo
• Las Vegas Aces: ACLU of Nevada
• Los Angeles Sparks: Human Rights Campaign
• Minnesota Lynx: ACLU of Minnesota
• New York Liberty: A Little Piece of Light
• Phoenix Mercury: Black Mothers Forum
• Seattle Storm: ACLU of Washington
• Washington Mystics: Alliance for Youth Action
WNBA Keeps Griner On-Court As Issue Intensifies