INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A year after winning a team prize pool of $500,000 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship, the Indiana Fever gear up for this year’s Commissioner’s Cup games, beginning this Thursday. The Fever took down the Minnesota Lynx, 74-59, in last year’s Cup Champ ionship game. The Commissioner’s Cup is an annual in-season competition over the first few weeks of the season, with all 15 WNBA teams playing at least six designated Cup games. After the designated Cup games, the teams with the best record during Cup Play from both the Western and Eastern conferences play each other in the Cup Championship for a chance to win a team prize pool of $500,000. Fever guard Sophie Cunningham mentioned how last year’s Commissioner’s Cup served as a momentum boost for the Fever’s season. “I think it was a turning point for our team last year,” Cunningham said. “We went through a lot, and just to see everyone come together, and everyone contributed, got positive reinforcement that everyone is needed. I think that’s always good for a team, especially going into that time of the season and then the playoffs. It’s good, but that’s last year. This year’s completely different, and so we’ve got to dial in today and get better offensively and defensively.” The Fever are currently 4-4 to begin the 2026 season and have already allowed 100 or more points in three different games this season. Cunningham alluded that this year’s Commissioner’s Cup games should allow them to dig deeper as a group. “I think it’s something to look forward to, a goal to reach that’s in-season,” Cunningham said. “I think that’s the whole point, a little bit more money for everybody, which is nice. I do think that it gives you something positive to look forward to and to work toward. Sometimes you need that in-season motivation.” 10th-year Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell expressed how the Fever shouldn’t need to use this year’s Commissioner’s Cup as a way to find extra motivation. “You don’t want to keep letting it come down to that, if I’m being honest,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to keep letting it come down to, well, you got a chance. Eventually, your chances run out, and that’s just how life goes. Hopefully, we don’t keep hanging our hat on thinking we get a chance. I think that mentality is the shift that you guys have to see in us. Because you keep waiting and you keep waiting and eventually you’re going to run out of things to wait for.” The Fever’s first of six Commissioner’s Cup games begins against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. ...read more read less