The Chicago Sky lost the Commissioner’s Cup final 93-83 to the Las Vegas Aces. But the defeat furthers their budding rivalry.

As much as they try to deny it, the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces have generated one of the WNBA’s most exciting rivalries since 2019.

The day before the Aces’ 93-83 win over the Sky in the second Commissioner’s Cup championship, Sky coach/general manager James Wade disregarded the classification of the two teams being rivals.

“When you start looking as things as a rivalry, you start looking at it as a partnership,” Wade said Monday. “We’re trying to win championships. We don’t care who we play against and we aren’t trying to share it with anyone.”

The battle between the two teams extends beyond the in-season exhibition that took place Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena.

After the San Antonio Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018, the Aces’ front office quickly built a nucleus around Kelsey Plum (24 points), A’ja Wilson (17 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks) and Dearica Hamby (nine points, five assists). Chicago did the same around their All-Star backcourt of Allie Quigley (three points) and Courtney Vandersloot (eight points, four assists) by adding Candace Parker (20 points, 14 rebounds) and betting on the rise of 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper (18 points, eight rebounds).

The Aces had momentum to become the league’s next darling when they beat the Sky in 2019 on Hamby’s miraculous half-court shot in the waning seconds of the second round of the playoffs. They went to the WNBA Finals the following year (Chicago fell in the first round) but eventually lost to the Seattle Storm. The Sky bounced back from an inconsistent regular season to capture their first title last year and became the WNBA’s clear favorite this season.

Parker, a key figure of the great Los Angeles Sparks-Minnesota Lynx rivalry last decade, still thinks more gas needs to be added to the fire before calling the Sky and Aces rivals.

“When you start cutting down nets and start putting up trophies and getting rings, that to me is a rivalry,” Parker said. “Nobody cares about a regular-season game. You can play teams tough in the regular season but you’re battling for rings. Honestly, that Lynx rivalry didn’t become a rivalry until we won a championship. Then it goes from there.”

Based on the atmosphere at Wintrust Arena Tuesday night, the Commissioner’s Cup might have gotten these teams closer to fully acknowledging what has been brewing for years.

The Aces got out to a 25-4 lead in the first quarter before the Sky chipped it down to seven points late in the third. After mounting the biggest comeback in WNBA history against the Aces on June 21, the Sky couldn’t quite complete a comeback bid that was soured by a 6-for-30 performance on 3-pointers.

Chicago has echoed the same sentiment all season: despite leading in the standings, it hasn’t had multiple satisfactory performances. The Commissioner’s Cup championship was another example of how the Sky are still seeking a complete game.

“I’m not worried about our team when we face adversity. I’m worried about us getting into adversity,” Parker said after the game. “We’ve had some slow starts against this team and had to claw our way out. It’s more not facing adversity, I think we’re built for that. But it’s not getting ourselves into it.”

Chelsea Gray (19 points, four rebounds, five assists) took home the Commissioner’s Cup MVP after her nine-point third quarter staved off the Sky’s comeback. After going 0-6 from the field and scoring only four points June 21, Gray bounced back when the Aces needed her most down the stretch.

“I want to set the record straight,” Plum said after the game. “(Gray) is the best point guard in the world. She’s a starting point guard on the Olympic team, an All-Star and the clutchest player in the WNBA. Ask any GM, player or coach.”

The Aces now have a 6-5 record against the Sky since 2019. They come out of Commissioner’s Cup play with one game separating them and Chicago from first place. According to FiveThirtyEight’s projections, the Sky have a 41% chance of making the Finals with the Aces falling three spots behind them with a 15% clip.

Tuesday night’s bout could serve as a precursor for what is to come when the postseason starts Aug. 17 and potentially start a new chapter between the league’s top two teams.

“It’s been a rivalry for a couple years,” Quigley said July 25. “It’s always a close game with some kind of dramatics involved. We still think about (Hamby’s) shot from three years ago and, ever since that, it is always going to be a rivalry.”

James Kay is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.