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The WNBA is introducing a new basketball for its Commissioner's Cup games, which will be played June 1 to 13.
The familiar orange and white ball, used by the WNBA since the league started in 1997, will be subbed out for the next two weeks. The Commissioner's Cup ball has eight alternating black and white panels, with rose gold-colored graphics featured against both backgrounds.
The ball will debut Saturday when the Chicago Sky visit the Indiana Fever at noon on ESPN, the first meeting of the Sky's Angel Reese (No. 7 draft pick) and the Fever's Caitlin Clark (No. 1 pick) as pros.
Bethany Donaphin, WNBA head of league operations, said in a news release that the new ball is, "a step forward in making our in-season tournament a distinct and recognizable WNBA tentpole."
"The fire orange and white WNBA ball remains iconic, but this new black, white and rose gold color scheme makes it instantly clear to fans when they are watching a Commissioner's Cup game," Donaphin said.
The WNBA Commissioner's Cup was launched in 2021 as the league's in-season competition. Last December, the WNBA announced a reconfigured format: every team plays five Commissioner's Cup games, one against each of its in-conference rivals.
All WNBA games played during the two-week period from June 1 to 13 will be Commissioner's Cup qualifying games and part of the team's 40-game regular season schedule.
The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner's Cup games will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the championship game on June 25. The team with the best record in Cup play will host the matchup.
The Cup winners so far are the Seattle Storm (2021), Las Vegas Aces (2022) and New York Liberty (2023).
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