As Sue Bird brought the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup to life

A crowned basketball, a second standing table and half a million dollars represent the next thing the WNBA expects.

The Commissioner ‘s Cup is a seasonal competition that aims to inspire fans by boosting cross – conference competitions and revenue opportunities for the WNBA. You would be forgiven if you did not give notice during its two – year existence. Some players are caught forgetting. But for the history of the WNBA ‘s newest dictionary, don’t expect Sue Bird.

Seattle’s point guard, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike and Mercury star Diana Taurasi were behind the latest WNBA innovation pushing for the unique event during the negotiations of the 2019 collective bargaining agreement. A year after the Cup With the Commissioner debuted in the WNBA, the NBA is now considering an in – season competition to add spices to its regular season.

For Bird, the growth of the new event is just another help to its long list of game – changing achievements. The 41-year-old has little to say on the court: five-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time WNBA champion, two-time NCAA champion, WNBA-winning player and all-time leader time in aid.

As the WNBA progresses, those records may one day drop. But Bird’s influence will continue in his role as a key member of the players ’union that has added innovative ideas to lay the foundation during a crucial period for the WNBA’s growth.

Terri Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association, called Bird’s service as one of the union’s three vice-presidents a “gift.”

“She understood her responsibility for the game and the women who are currently playing and the young women who want to be like her,” Jackson said. “We know what our role is in the women’s game and she understands her dominance and influence and honestly, she has been extremely generous over the last few years serving in the leadership and sharing it with us.”

Bird, who announced her retirement at the end of the season last month, will play their final regular season game against the Sparks Thursday at Crypto.com Arena. It will be the final Commissioner ‘s Cup match of the year for both teams, already in the race for the $ 500,000 in bonus money, as players and fans continue to celebrate Bird’s distinguished career.

“Sue is one of the GOATs,” said Sparks guard Jordin Canada, who played with Bird in Seattle for four years. “It simply came to our notice then. … It’s a long list of what she’s accomplished in her career and it’s a testament to how great she is as a player, but not only that, but who she is. ”

Looking back on her 21-year WNBA career, Bird regrets not being more involved with the earlier players’ union, she told the Times in a phone interview. Like many of her peers, Bird spent her WNBA offseason playing abroad. It felt like “out of sight, out of mind,” she said.

After Bird stopped playing abroad in 2015, she became more curious about the union. She started as a player representative. First Vice President Layshia encouraged Clarendon Bird to stand on the executive committee.

It could not have come at a better time. As Bird’s vice presidential term began in August 2018, players were deciding whether to withdraw from their collective bargaining agreement.

Helping to negotiate CBA 2020, which has been suggested for increased salaries and better benefits such as 100% paid maternity leave and stipends for childcare and family planning has been one of the most valuable parts of being in player leadership, Bird said. together with the WNBA social. justice campaigns during the 2020 bubble season that drew the attention of Breonna Taylor and launched a campaign to elect Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.

Negotiating CBA was difficult, in part, because the players wanted to start from scratch after previous collective bargaining agreements had left them “stuck,” Bird said. Jackson said the players submitted 75 proposals.

Both sides reached the list and there was a moment when players seemed to let the league know they were ready to sign, Jackson recalled. Until Bird stepped in with a question: “But why?”

“Sue said okay, we’re close to the end, we’re going to do with this, but we don’t need anything,” Jackson said. “We want no regrets.”

Despite months of negotiations, the agreement celebrated on “Good Morning America” ​​in January 2020 is not perfect. Two years into the seven – year contract, some second – guess players have questions about a priority clause limiting lucrative overseas opportunities starting next season. Players are still campaigning with the league for travel arrangements, including extra leg room, but no guaranteed charter flights.

The current agreement will expire in 2027.

“I don’t care if this is the CBA before the CBA,” Bird said. “We needed one that was going to be a basic CBA that could be a starting point for future growth.”

The key growth area that could solve many of the league’s problems is revenue. The salary cap increased by about 30% in the most recent CBA, but the agreement only granted 50-50 revenue sharing if the set meets certain revenue growth targets from broadcast agreements, marketing partnerships and licensed markets.

The creation of the Commissioner ‘s Cup was designed to help the siege achieve its goals. Jackson called it “the in-game game,” as Bird, Taurasi and Ogwumike sought to provide a true solution to the repeated calls for a “new model.” Inspired by similar in-season tournaments in overseas leagues, the two-year-old format designates 10 regular season games for each team as Cup games and the best team in each conference will play an additional game with $ 50,000 bonus money in question.

The first-year tournament, which ended with Seattle joking about Connecticut Sun and Bird joking, felt like the weight was as much as the team’s bonus money, as a afterthought as players were slowly shifting their focus away from the normal season bets.

Sparks forward Katie Lou Samuelson, who won the Commissioner’s Cup last year as a member of the Storm, said awareness is growing in the second season of the tournament. But with 36 regular season games to play at WNBA, the Cup is not always ahead of every player.

Part of the appeal of the current form is that there is little disruption to an already difficult schedule. He only adds one more game for both finals. But the small scale is yet to make real waves.

Overseas in-season tournaments have already been successful, including the top of the Spanish league in which Samuelson and Storm guard Jewell Loyd play for 10-year-old Queen’s Cup champions, Perfumerías Avenida. The tournament gathers the top eight teams in the under-16 league for a weekend singles tournament. It may be grueling – three games in three days – but the hunt for trophies and bonuses, as well as city bragging rights have made the event very popular in Spain.

Loyd also sees a future in which the Commissioner ‘s Cup could grow into a march.

“The biggest thing in the WNBA is how you market things,” the All-Star said three times. “It’s a big part of that, understanding who you are marketing to, how you market it, what it’s about.”

Coinbase is currently sponsored by the Commissioner’s Cup, and Bird hopes that sponsorship opportunities will increase to expand the event so that more teams come together in one venue to become an “almost similar event the way we look at the Women ‘s Final.

“It’s like a real time event,” she continued, “an event that people want to be a part of.”

Bird lifted the Commissioner’s inaugural cup last year but will soon slip into the background as she watches the league continue the tradition in its next era. This torch will be another aid during his biggest career ever.