Minnesota Lynx Win First WNBA Commissioner's Cup Title

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The Minnesota Lynx are ready for a dialogue change in the WNBA.

"You got to talk about us now, you've got no choice," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after her team beat the New York Liberty 94-89 to win the Commissioner's Cup Trophy. "We don't really care what you think, except for right now, when we get to say to you, 'You've got to talk about us.'

"We just beat a superteam. You know how hard that is to do? Because you guys love your superteams. That's all you want to talk about. But we just beat a superteam. Let's talk about it."

Last season, the WNBA narrative was dominated by discussion of so-called superteams Las Vegas and New York. They met for the 2023 Commissioner's Cup, won by the Liberty, and then in the WNBA Finals, won by the Aces.

The Lynx -- whose dynasty years ran from 2011 to 2017, when they won four titles and went to two other Finals -- are ready to be back in the conversation about WNBA championships. The way they played Tuesday proved that, as has their 13-3 start this season.

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The Commissioner's Cup, an in-season competition started in 2021, has grown in prestige among the players, who compete for a $500,000 prize pool. The Cup format was changed this year with each team playing five regular-season games, rather than the previous 10, to determine their place in the Cup standings. Another change was having all the Cup games in a two-week span and then the final, all in June.

Breanna Stewart (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Sabrina Ionescu (23 points, 10 rebounds) led New York. Like Collier, they are on the U.S. 5-on-5 Olympic team coached by Reeve.

Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was the game's MVP with 21 points and 6 rebounds.

Minnesota took over in the third quarter, outscoring New York 19-10, and then held off the Liberty in the final quarter.

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Gallery Credit: Curt St. John