Liberty to play WNBA Commissioner's Cup final at UBS Arena

The Liberty will host Minnesota in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game, trying to defend their crown. They just won’t do it at their usual home.

The game will be played at 8 p.m. on June 25 at UBS Arena instead of Barclays Center. The first round of the NBA Draft will be staged at Barclays the following night, necessitating the move.

“We are excited for the opportunity to defend our Commissioner’s Cup title in New York, and we appreciate our fans’ unwavering support of our team,” Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said in a statement. “While we wish we could have brought this game to our fans in our home arena, we are grateful to UBS Arena for accommodating us and providing a world-class venue in New York.”

The Liberty qualified as the Eastern Conference representative after sweeping their five Commissioner’s Cup games in the first two weeks of this month.

They won at Las Vegas last August to take the Cup behind game MVP Jonquel Jones, but Las Vegas beat the Liberty in four games in the WNBA Finals.

The Liberty (12-2) have won eight straight and are second in the WNBA standings. The Lynx (10-3) were right behind them heading into Monday night’s home game against Dallas.

“Our fans are amazing,” Jones said after the Liberty clinched home-court advantage with a win over Washington on June 9 at Barclays Center. “They show up. They show out. And they give us that extra boost that we need to really just win games.

“And so, yeah, we’re happy they’re going to be able to watch the Commissioner’s Cup and they’re going to be able to cheer us on. We want to go out there and do everything possible to get the win for them.”