Becky Hammon’s Blunt WNBA Leadership Take Spells Trouble for Cathy Engelbert

The talk of the WNBA world for a few weeks this fall was the scathing comments that Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier had about the league’s front office (particularly its commissioner, Cathy Engelbert) during her exit interview at the end of September.

This sparked a ton of headlines about the fractured relationship between the league office and the players in the midst of ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations, particularly regarding how players feel toward Engelbert. While Engelbert has been the league’s commissioner since 2019 and deserves a lot of credit for growing the league (particularly regarding her role in adding several expansion teams), the one constant criticism she has faced is an inability to build meaningful relationships with players.

And given how player-focused and dependent the WNBA is, this inability presents a real problem.

Las Vegas Aces superstar and 2025 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson didn’t mince words about Engelbert’s response to Collier’s comments when speaking with the media on September 30, as she said, “Had an opportunity to listen to Phee, and I just want to say, I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made,” per an X post from @ShowCaseShabazz.

“But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of our players’ association, representing us, because that’s what we’re gonna have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in,” she added.

Becky Hammon’s WNBA Leadership Admission Turns Heads

Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces coach, Becky Hammon, interviewed with CNBC on November 12 and sent a clear message about the state of the league’s leadership.

“I’ve only had a few private conversations with Cathy. To me, her private conversations that she’s had with players, or her lack of the conversations, have led to some rocky relationship status with the players,” Hammon said. “When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen. I think she’s sitting up and listening now. I hope she would have done it earlier. I don’t know if [Engelbert] can ever, kind of, retract and get that traction back from those conversations.

“I would say they’re probably going to look for a change in leadership. I just think it might be too fractured at this point. But we’ll see,” Hammon added. “You’ve got to be about the people you’re serving. She’s in a position of serving the players of this league, the owners of this league. And you’ve got to take care of those relationships, first and foremost.”

This sentiment makes it seem like Engelbert’s days in her current position might be numbered.

Recommended Reading: