Las Vegas Aces head coach and six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon said it may be time to change the direction of the WNBA.
In an interview with CNBC Sport, a month after winning her third WNBA championship with the Aces, Hammon discussed what she described as a “difficult relationship” between commissioner Cathy Engelbert and many WNBA players, as calls for Engelbert to resign.
“I would say they’re probably going to look for a change in leadership. I just think things might be too fragmented at this point,” Hammon said.
In late September, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier publicly criticized Engelbert’s leadership, saying the commissioner had shown a lack of empathy toward players on compensation issues and ongoing officiating issues.
Collier recounted comments Engelbert allegedly made during a meeting in February. These comments sparked numerous negative reactions and prompted several other actors to express their concerns about the commissioner.
Hammon suggested the situation could now be beyond repair.
“I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to, sort of, regret and recant and reclaim the appeal of those conversations,” Hammon said.
“The only thing that [league] always stood for is that when players talk, people need to sit down and listen,” Hammon said. “I think [Engelbert is] sitting and listening now. “
The WNBA declined to comment, but highlighted Engelbert’s record of business accomplishments to CNBC.
Engelbert took over as CEO in 2019 after more than three decades at Deloitte.
During her tenure as WNBA commissioner, she led the league through the Covid pandemic and generated record growth in finances, attendance and viewership, 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 a year to $200 million a year in media revenue.
She also oversaw the league’s expansion, adding six new teams in recent years. The latest franchises — teams from Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — each paid a record $250 million in expansion fees, CNBC previously reported.
In 2024, Engelbert implemented charter flights across the league and upgraded team accommodations to five-star hotels, marking another major step in the professionalization of the league.
But players say they are underpaid compared to their NBA counterparts — and the league’s growing popularity.
In a press conference on October 3, before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Engelbert acknowledged the criticism surrounding her relationship with players and pledged to make changes.
“If 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 the Nov. 30 deadline.
Hammon, a former WNBA All-Star, made history as the first woman to serve as an interim head coach in the NBA when she replaced then-San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in 2020 when she was an assistant coach with the team.
In 2021, the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA announced that Hammon would take over as head coach. She led the team to three championships in the last four years and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.