WNBA Las Vegas Aces’ Becky Hammon says league may need new leadership

Las Vegas Aces head coach and six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon said it may be time for a change in WNBA leadership.

In an interview with CNBC Sport, one month after winning her third WNBA Championship with the Aces, Hammon discussed what she described as a “rocky relationship” between Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and many WNBA players as calls for Engelbert to step down build.

“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,” Hammon said.

In late September, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier publicly criticized Engelbert’s leadership, saying the commissioner showed a lack of empathy toward the players on issues of pay and ongoing officiating problems.

Collier recounted comments Engelbert reportedly made during a meeting in February. Those comments drew widespread backlash and prompted several other players to voice their concerns about the commissioner.

Hammon suggested the situation may now be beyond repair.

“I don’t know if she can ever, kind of, regret, retract and get that traction back from those conversations,” Hammon said.

“The one thing that the [league] has always stood for is when the players speak, people need to sit up and listen,” Hammon said. “I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now.”

The WNBA declined to comment, but pointed CNBC to Engelbert’s record of business achievements.

Engelbert took the helm at the league in 2019 following more than three decades at Deloitte.

During her tenure as WNBA commissioner, she has led the league through the Covid pandemic and driven record financial, attendance and viewership growth, according to the league. She also helped negotiate the 2020 collective bargaining agreement and a media rights deal that took the league from $60 million annually to $200 million annually in media revenue.

She also oversaw the league’s expansion, adding six new teams in recent years. The latest franchises — teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — each paid a record $250 million in expansion fees, CNBC previously reported.

In 2024, Engelbert implemented leaguewide charter flights and upgraded team accommodations to five-star hotels, marking another major step in the league’s professionalization.

But players argue they’re underpaid relative to their NBA counterparts — and to the surging popularity of the league.

In an Oct. 3 press conference, ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Engelbert acknowledged the criticism surrounding her relationship with players and pledged to make changes.

“If the players don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then I have to do better,” Engelbert said.

The WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of a Nov. 30 deadline.

Hammon, a former WNBA All-Star, made history as the first woman to serve as an acting NBA head coach when she filled in for then-San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich in 2020 during her time as an assistant coach with the team.

In 2021, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces announced Hammon would take over as head coach. She’s led the team to three championships in the last four years and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.