The New York Liberty are looking for redemption, while the Las Vegas Aces are riding their momentum. The Commissioners Cup championship will take place on Tuesday at Barclays Center against the two familiar foes.
While the Liberty got into the championship with a perfect record of 6-0, their recent record hasn’t been reflective of that dominance. In their last five games, they’ve gone 1-4, and the Aces have the opposite record of 4-1. The Aces' only loss and the Liberty's only win came from when they played each other a week ago—a game the Liberty won 87-76.
The rivalry has only been intensified since 2023, when the Liberty won the Commissioner's Cup in Las Vegas’ territory. But the Aces had the last laugh when they won the WNBA Finals against the Liberty later that same year.Â
Since 2024 New York has had the upper hand against Las Vegas and boasts a 6-2 record in the regular season. Las Vegas will be in higher spirits heading into the matchup because they’ve been winning games. On the flip side, New York has been in an adjusting period because of new changes on the team this year, most recently, Sabrina Ionescu is back from injury and is trying to figure out her role.
MVP's A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart go to battle
Between the two teams, there are seven MVP honorees. A'ja Wilson has the most with four, Breanna Stewart has two and Jonquel Jones has one. Wilson and Stewart have been the two driving forces of their squads this season.
Wilson is playing arguably the best basketball of her career so far, averaging 25.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Stewart is balling out too with 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals.
The matchup between the two will be a hard-fought battle, but whoever wins will make it easier to propel their team to success. Still, this team is full of stars, so what happens when those stars are off the floor will be telling.
X-factor will be the bench for both teams
The Aces potential Sixth Player of the Year candidate, Chennedy Carter, just played her first game after two weeks due to an unnamed Illness. Having her back in the lineup is a huge pick up for the Aces right before they play for the Cup. Coming off the bench, Carter is putting up starting rotation numbers, averaging 14.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
Her presence on the court will give the Aces the same intensity that they need on the floor while their starters are able to rest up. The same won't be for the Liberty, though, who struggled against the Valkyries to get production out of their bench.
Against the Valkyries, the Liberty only had 11 points from off the bench, contributing to their loss. In Carter's first game back in two weeks, she put up 11 points herself. When the stars eventually have to rest, it will be up to the depth of each team to win the Cup and the $500,000.
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