LAS VEGAS -- The New York Liberty are one of the WNBA's original franchises dating back to 1997 and have played for the league title four times. But they had never won a championship -- until Tuesday.
And even if it was an in-season title, it meant a lot to the Liberty to win the Commissioner's Cup trophy after an 82-63 win over the Las Vegas Aces.
The Liberty talked before the game about the importance of finally winning some hardware for the franchise, and now they have. Plus, as the Cup championship team, the players each earned $30,000. They also now have defeated the defending WNBA champions twice this season, handing the Aces their first loss at home in 2023.
Tuesday night's game didn't count in the standings, though; the Aces are still 27-3 atop the league and the Liberty second at 24-6. But New York sent a message, following its 99-61 victory over Las Vegas in Brooklyn earlier this month with another win in which it put the Aces' league-best offense (94 PPG) in a deep freeze while outscoring them 15-5 in 3-pointers.
Jonquel Jones, in her first season in New York along with Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot, was named the Commissioner's Cup MVP after getting 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The Liberty have held reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson to two uncharacteristic performances. She was 2-of-10 for nine points Tuesday after going 2-of-14 for nine points on Aug. 6. The Aces shot just 33.3% for the game.
The potential of a Finals meeting of the WNBA's two so-called "superteams" has been the league's primary storyline all season. After their first meeting, a 98-81 Aces victory on June 29 in Las Vegas, it seemed like the Aces were clearly in the driver's seat. For now, though, the Liberty have claimed the upper hand.
They play twice more in the regular season: at Michelob Ultra Arena on Thursday and at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 28.
It was the third Commissioner's Cup final; the Seattle Storm won in 2021 and the Aces won last season.