On Tuesday night during a press conference at NBA Summer League, NBA commissioner Adam Silver mentioned he was “pleased” with the current state of the WNBA and the “tremendous progress” it has made under WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, but was noncommittal when asked about Engelbert’s future with the league.
“I think Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league,” he mentioned, noting that he didn’t want to speak for Engelbert. “We’ll have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like.”
The WNBA office and Engelbert have been making headlines the past few weeks, after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas put her first in Caitlin Clark’s throat during a loose-ball scramble in a game against the Fever. The play was not called a foul during the game, but set off a wave of outrage on social media. The league retroactively upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 and suspended Thomas for one game.
Alyssa Thomas says she received death threats after Caitlin Clark incident, calls out WNBA commissioner
Lindsay Gibbs
Sports Business Journal revealed on Wednesday that Engelbert had no plans to suspend Thomas until Silver, who is technically Engelbert’s boss because of the ownership structure between the WNBA and NBA, persuaded her to do so. The WNBA called that report “absolutely false.”
Engelbert has been under fire from multiple parties inside and outside the league. Thomas herself did not object to the suspension, but had a problem with how the commissioner handled both informing her of the punishment and the torrent of abuse she received in the aftermath of the incident’s virality.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know I was being suspended until 10 minutes before it was put on social media. We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy,” Thomas told reporters. “It’s no surprise; you can see what’s being mentioned on social media, and yeah, I mean it’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent, and that’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened.” Only after Thomas spoke out about the harassment she was receiving did Englebert release a statement noting that the WNBA “vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate.”
Engelbert, who has served as WNBA commissioner since 2019, also received criticism for a very late cancellation of an interview with radio host Dan Patrick last week. The two were both at a golf tournament when Engelbert initially agreed to the interview and was playing golf nearby during his show.
Players have been vocally frustrated with Engelbert since the end of last season, when Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier publicly slammed WNBA leadership as the “worst in the world.” Tensions only escalated over the offseason as the collective bargaining agreement fight dragged on for months after the deadline, putting the 2026 season in jeopardy until the last minute.
In March, on the heels of the WNBA and WNBA Players Association finally agreeing to a historic CBA that increased player salaries by 364%, Silver mentioned that he and Engelbert had not discussed her future, and that he was unsure how long she wanted to stay in the job. A few weeks late,r at the WNBA Draft, Engelbert was defensive when asked about Silver’s comments and her employment plans.
“I wonder whether you would ask that of a man? I realize as women we get asked different questions than men do,” she mentioned. “But I’m so proud of this league and we are working really hard to make our 30th season our best ever and to continue to build that sustainable economic model we need for the future. Nothing else to report, which is probably why Adam (Silver) didn’t report anything. There is no story here. I’m thrilled with our trajectory, I’m thrilled with the growth, thrilled with what we’ve done over the past couple years and really looking forward to the next few years.”
At the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, Silver mentioned that all parties seemed to be in a good place after the CBA negotiations.
“Again, this season, we’re off again to a very strong start,” he mentioned. “I think my sense was, I was behind the scenes in the collective bargaining process, but I was pleased both with how the league conducted itself and ultimately the Players Association. I think that we reset economically, which was long overdue, and my sense is, talking directly with the players, that they are pleased with the outcome.”
