Minnesota Lynx and NY Liberty square off in fourth annual WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship

The GIST: The WNBA’s fourth annual Commissioner's Cup — an in-season battle for hardware and cold hard cash — tips off tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET, featuring two red-hot squads: the Minnesota Lynx out of the Western Conference and the host NY Liberty (the defending Cup champs) representing the Eastern Conference. Taking “can’t miss” to a whole new level.

How it works: This year featured a revamped format in which each team played five Commissioner's Cup games (down from 10 in years prior) — one against each in-conference rival. The squads — one from each conference — with the top record in those designated Commissioner's Cup games advanced to tomorrow’s championship tilt.

• The Libs blew away the competition, going undefeated in their matchups, while the Lynx dropped just one game en route to clinching the chance to play for the $500K prize pool.

• Speaking of, the players on the winning team earn about $30K each, the champ game MVP wins a $5K bonus, and the losing team still walks away with $10K each for their efforts. Cha-ching.

The matchup: Both sides are riding high into tomorrow’s tip-off — the Libs are on a three-game win streak while the Lynx have quietly rattled off an astounding six straight Ws. Minnesota did rout NY 84–67 when they met in late May, but that was on an uncharacteristically off night for NY’s Jonquel Jones, who was held to a mere four points in the L.

• JJ features on a fearsome Big (Apple) Three, joined by reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, all three of whom rank in the top 15 of the league in scoring.

• As for the Lynx, they’re led by one of the most underrated players in the league, Napheesa Collier, who averages at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. But she’s quick to credit the depth of her balanced squad, including sharpshooter Kayla McBride. Teamwork making that dream work.