The next WNBA commissioner will inherit a league experiencing unprecedented growth and development. But as Cathy Engelbert made clear on Saturday, there is considerably more to the job than building on the business success she leaves behind.
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Ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Engelbert addressed reporters about the future of the league and what her successor must get right, as per FOS Colin Salao. While she emphasized sustained growth, global expansion, and technological improvements, the outgoing commissioner also highlighted player safety and the importance of building strong relationships across every level of the league’s ecosystem.
“I would tell the next commissioner that we’ve got to continue the growth and get into a sustained growth period for the league office,” Engelbert said. “And then the teams are still in hyper growth and still support the teams in their growth objectives because teams have grown a lot.”
“It’s like a multi-dimensional role. You have to have very thick skin. You have to have confidence that we can continue this growth trajectory, and confidence in building relationships with players and agents, and the Board of Governors, the owners, and the stakeholders.”
“When I took it over, I didn’t realize how broad the platform could become and how we became such a growth stock, as one of our owners called it, which has been positive, but it came with some negatives around the attention and the vitriol that’s unacceptable that our players get. So working on that as we continue to figure out how to support the safety of our players,” she added.
Cathy Engelbert officially assumed the role of the WNBA’s first-ever commissioner on July 17, 2019. Across her seven-year tenure, she shepherded the league through a period of historic financial transformation and unprecedented cultural visibility.
Her decision to step down was officially announced on September 4, 2026, with her retirement set to take effect at the end of the calendar year. Engelbert, however, also revealed she has actually been working on identifying her successor for three years. And on the question of interest in the position, she offered an encouraging note.
“The good news is there’s people who really want to take on this role, which I think is great,” she said.
The NBA has officially hired Excel Search & Advisory to spearhead the vetting and talent acquisition process, and Cathy Engelbert confirmed she has personally submitted suggested candidates, as have others involved in the process.
In her address, Cathy Engelbert also confirmed that a centralized replay system is on track to be in place for next season, perhaps one final operational milestone she will leave behind before stepping away.
Among the larger achievements of her tenure are a transformative eleven-year broadcasting rights package worth approximately $3.1 billion, and a long-overdue break from the league’s expansion freeze, scaling the WNBA from 12 teams to a projected 18 by 2030, with franchises awarded to San Francisco, Toronto, Portland, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
The Golden State Valkyries, who are playing in the Finals right now in just their second season of existence, are perhaps the most vivid embodiment of what that expansion vision looks like in practice. They made the playoffs in year one. And they finished as the No. 2 seed in year two, swept the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals, and now stand one series away from a championship.
They are, in many ways, the textbook example of the unprecedented growth Engelbert has overseen throughout her tenure.
Golden State Valkyries Survive Late Scare to Beat Atlanta Dream in WNBA Finals Game 1
The Golden State Valkyries are now one win closer to their first WNBA championship after surviving a late scare to defeat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Despite trailing by eight points at the end of the first quarter, the Valkyries found a way to turn things around, with Gabby Williams being the defining difference-maker. She finished with a game-high 26 points and kept the Valkyries in contention throughout a contest that could have gone either way. Her offensive contributions were most crucial during a dominant 28-point second quarter that flipped the game entirely, carrying Golden State into halftime with a 42-39 advantage.
The Atlanta Dream, however, refused to go quietly. They kept the game within reach and were even ahead with two minutes to the end of the game. But Golden State’s defence stepped up decisively when it mattered most, limiting the Dream to just eight points in the final period and closing the game on a 7-0 run to seal the result.
Game 2 returns to Chase Center, where the Valkyries will look to press their home advantage once again and move within two wins of the championship that would complete one of the most remarkable two-year runs in professional basketball history.