MINNEAPOLIS —The calendar flips to June, summer’s in the air, the accent panels on WNBA basketballs turn from orange to black and the Commissioner’s Cup has begun.
The Minnesota Lynx tipped off this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, the sixth year the WNBA has held its annual in-season tournament, in emphatic fashion. Their 111-77 victory against the Mercury in Phoenix marked the largest margin of victory in a WNBA game this season.
Like sand through hourglass, Courtney Williams has become even more of a bucket. Williams, who entered the game with the highest 3-point shooting percentage in the tournament’s history at 47.6% (of players with at least 50 career attempts from 3-point range in Commissioner’s Cup games per across the timeline) and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from deep on the night. Those three three-pointers were part of a 10-of-12 overall performance from the field for 30 points, the most she’s ever scored in a Lynx uniform.
“They just kept doing the same defense and Courtney thrives in those moments,” Kayla McBride said after practice on June 3. “She’s a hooper. Being back in her natural position, I think she’s enjoying it more than anybody realizes. When she’s in the zone like that it’s almost like a flow state. The shots that Courtney takes, that’s what you normally give up [as a defense], but she’s just so efficient at it, so it just becomes a lot of fun. You love to see your teammate having a moment like that.”
In 41 career Commissioner’s Cup games, including Monday night in Phoenix, Williams is averaging 12.3 points on 49% shooting from beyond the arc, per Across the Timeline.
“I think it gives us that competitive, playoff type of feel in the middle of the season,” Williams said during the postgame press conference when asked about her overall Commissioner’s Cup success. “I think it’s a good thing for our league, and obviously, 30 bands on the line so when we go get us some extra money, that’s always a good thing.”
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Williams is hardly the only Lynx player who knows a thing or two about putting up explosive numbers in this tournament. McBride entered this year’s tournament at No. 5 on the all-time 3-point % list at 42.7% on a career 220 attempts. Former Lynx Bridget Carleton (45%) is one spot behind Williams.
“I think the first year we had it, Bridget and I were shooting like 80% from three or something,” McBride recalled, (not quite, per Across the timeline the best 3-pt shooting year in the tournament for both Carleton and McBride was 2024 when they shot 60.8% and 56.1% respectively). “I don’t know what it is, but the stakes are higher too, so you know in those high-stakes games it’s a lot of fun. So I think it’s partially the ball and partially just the games are more intense too when you’re playing for a chance for some money.”
The Lynx have reached the tournament final in each of the past two seasons, winning it against the New York Liberty in 2024, and then falling to the Indiana Fever in the title game last season. The extra payday that comes with playing in the final is nice for the players, but the coaches are bound to be more appreciative of the 5-7 wins it takes to get there helping the team’s placement in the league standings.
“I know that the players want more money, any chance that there’s money on the line it means something to them and we want them to be successful in their pursuit of that,” Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said before Monday night’s game. “It doesn’t take over what you’re trying to do of the larger picture of the season.”
Reeve and the Lynx have a banner and a trophy in a trophy case honoring their 2024 tournament championship. More trophies and banner entries will always be a welcome site for an organization that loves winning, but nothing else could replace the elusive 5th WNBA championship trophy that no franchise to date has managed to capture.
The Lynx entered Cup play with the league’s best record. Qualifying for the final, which will be played on June 30, would ensure their place atop the league for at least the next couple weeks and would also help beef up potential playoff-seeding tie-breakers with Western Conference foes when the season gets down to the wire.
Beyond the cash, there’s plenty to play for, and only time will tell if the Lynx and the hot hand of Williams make a third straight appearance in the tournament final.
