Almost two weeks ago, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that she would retire at the end of 2026.
Her decision instantly sparked conversation and speculation about who would assume leadership of the WNBA. But, don’t expect a new commissioner to be named any time soon.
In a press conference following this week’s NBA Board of Governors meetings, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver indicated that the process to determine Engelbert’s successor remains in the early stages, with Silver explaining:
In terms
of the process, in fact, sort of my NBA/WNBA colleagues…are in the process now of interviewing search firms. And once we hire a search firm, we’ll begin the search in earnest.
Silver further shared that:
We’ve heard from several potential candidates, we’ve heard from others who are recommending candidates, and we are keeping that list right now at the office.
Previously, Engelbert related to the Associated Press that “she has been working on a succession plan over the last few years,” and that “there are both internal and external potential candidates on the league’s radar.”
Silver also told The Athletic, “I can tell by the calls I’m getting how much more attractive this job is and will be in 2027 than it was in 2019.”
ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel sourced speculation from around the league about Engelbert’s successor. The individuals identified included:
- Swin Cash, former WNBA star who has experience working in the New York Liberty and New Orleans Pelicans front offices
- Keia Clarke, New York Liberty CEO who also has worked in the NBA/WNBA league offices
- Bethany Donaphin, head of WNBA operations since who previously worked as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies
- Tanya Hvizdak, vice president of global sports marketing at Nike who has worked at the company for 25 years
- Jess Smith, team president of the Golden State Valkyries who has worked across women’s and men’s pro sports for two decades
- Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner and COO of the NBA who briefly served as the WNBA’s interim president before Engelbert was named commissioner
Who’s your pick for the next WNBA commish?
Over at The Feed, we’ve already started the conversation about who Swish Appeal readers would like to see follow Cathy Engelbert as WNBA Commissioner. Join in and keep the conversation going.
Additional press conference comments from Silver suggest the next WNBA Commissioner, who will be the second-ever WNBA Commissioner as Engelbert was the first league leader to assume that title in 2019, will be granted, as well as have the opportunity to expand on, the autonomy the WNBA began to establish from the NBA under Engelbert.
Silver noted the NBA, which still owns 42 percent of the WNBA, is “constantly recalibrating” the relationship between the leagues. He identified “basketball and player issues” as two areas of the WNBA commissionership that should be “independent of the NBA,” clarifying:
Cathy had enormous independence in those areas and the player relations when it came to overseeing collective bargaining discussions, certainly when it comes to potential rule changes in the WNBA.
In his comments to The Athletic, Silver echoed the idea that “player issues” are seen as a priority for the next commissioner, stating:
Now that we have a long-term [collective bargaining] agreement in place, we need somebody who is going to help unify the players with the players and the players with ownership. I see that opportunity.
Those comments from Silver, however, seem to contradict some of his actions, as he recently has intervened into “player issues.”
Following the on-court incident between the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark earlier this season, reports emerged that Silver urged Engelbert to suspend Thomas, as Silver reportedly, “felt badly for Clark.” The Fever’s Sophie Cunningham also shared that she had recently spoken to Silver about the forthcoming commissioner vacancy.
Overall, Silver reiterated the value of the WNBA remaining integrated with NBA, insisting the NBA has not “hampered the operation of the WNBA at all” before explicating:
I think the WNBA is by far and away the most successful women’s league operating right now, by measure of viewership, by measure of ratings, by measure of franchise value, by measure of player pay.
I think, at least for for now, the the WNBA is the beneficiary of the decades of experience of people in the NBA.
