INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever start Commissioner’s Cup play Thursday night as they look for back-to-back championships in the league’s sixth annual event.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever will play against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream in their 2026 Cup debut.
Here’s how the Commissioner’s Cup works:
What is the Commissioner’s Cup?
The Commissioner’s Cup, which started in 2021, is an annual in-season tournament. This season, all games will be played between June 1-17 with the winning team receiving a $500,000 prize pool. Eastern Conference teams like the Fever will play six games, while teams in the Western Conference will play seven due to the imbalance between conferences.
Eastern Conference teams include the Atlanta Dream, Connecticut Sun, Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, Toronto Tempo and the Washington Mystics.
Western Conference teams are the Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings , Golden State Valkyries, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, Portland Fire and Las Vegas Aces.
Which teams play in the Commissioner’s Cup final?
The two teams with the best cup play record in their respective conferences will play in the Commissioner’s Cup final, which will be June 30. This game does not count toward the regular-season win-loss record.
The team with the highest winning percentage throughout cup play will host the game. If there’s a tie in the winning percentage, home-court advantage will be determined by the point differential, head-to-head record and potentially even a coin flip.
What is the prize for winning the Commissioner’s Cup?
The grand prize is a $500,000 pool to be split among the winning team, which would amount to around $45,000 per player.
Have the Indiana Fever ever won the Commissioner’s Cup?
The Fever won the Commissioner’s Cup 74-59 over the Minnesota Lynx in 2025.
Seattle won in 2021, Las Vegas in 2022, New York in 2023 and Minnesota in 2024.
Which charity did the Fever partner with?
For this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, the Fever partnered with Coburn Place. This organization provides safe housing options and support for domestic violence survivors and their families in the greater Indianapolis area.
Indiana Fever Commissioner’s Cup schedule
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever hope to defend WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title: Schedule, charity, prize money
Reporting by Cameron Cocquyt and Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cameron Cocquyt and Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
