'There is no story here': WNBA commissioner gets defensive about future in wide-ranging pre-draft presser

Cathy Engelbert also discussed CBA negotiations, the officiating task force, the Connecticut Sun sale and more

On Monday night, the WNBA ushered in its marquee 30th season with the 2026 WNBA Draft. It was a monumental night for the league, coming less than a month after the new WNBA collective bargaining agreement was agreed to. 

There were plenty of reasons for the league and its fans to celebrate. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings, is set to earn $500,000 her rookie season, which is double what the supermax salary was just a year ago. It was also the first collegiate draft for the league's new expansion teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.

But before the celebrations got underway, commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the media at large for the first time since her defiant press conference during the WNBA Finals last October, which was given just days after Napheesa Collier publicly slammed WNBA leadership as the "worst in the world."

While the context of this press conference was much more favorable for Engelbert, coming on the heels of the landmark CBA, there were still a few contentious moments during the 30-minute availability.

Here's what we learned from Engelbert about her future with the league, CBA negotiations, the sale of the Connecticut Sun and more.

Engelbert was defensive when asked about her future with the WNBA

Last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he wasn't sure how long Engelbert would want to remain commissioner of the WNBA. On Monday night, Engelbert was asked about Silver's comments and about how long she wanted to remain in the role. Engelbert wasn't particularly thrilled about that line of questioning.  

"I do crack up about how everyone's focused on me and you should be focused on the hundreds of amazing women and thousands of women who run this league outside of myself," she said. 

"But I appreciate that you're focused on me as well. I wonder whether you would ask that of a man? I realize as women we get asked different questions than men do. 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."

The reporter who asked the question, Madeline Kenney of the New York Post, posted on X that she would have asked Engelbert that question if she was a man.  

Engelbert was surprised in CBA negotiations by how important housing was to players

Engelbert said she was surprised by how much players were pushing for housing assistance during the CBA discussions,

"I didn't know how important and emotional that was for them," Engelbert said. "Because I just assumed, having two children in their 20s that paid for their own housing, that once they were making these much increased salaries, that that wasn't something they would need or want. But they made it very clear it was very important to them. It was an emotional issue."

The WNBA has always provided housing for its players. However, during CBA negotiations, the WNBA removed housing accommodations in its proposal because of the increased salaries. But that led to a lot of backlash among players, because the WNBA season does not last all year and most players can be traded or cut at any time.

Under the new CBA agreement, there will be team-sponsored housing for all players through 2029, and that support will continue for players who earn $500,000 or less through 2030. After that, only developmental players receive guaranteed housing. The phasing out of the housing, Engelbert said, is meant to set up the professionalism of the league.

There will be a change in officiating this season

Officiating was a hot topic during the 2025 WNBA finals, but the league is hoping to solve that problem with a specialized task force to help with concerns over officiating consistency and the physicality of the game. Engelbert didn't share new details on it, but she said there has been input from WNBA players, coaches and other stakeholders, as well as from college basketball coaches.

"More to come on exactly what that will mean, but I think you'll see some changes in the officiating around that physicality this year," she said. "Obviously, it's going to take all sides to get used to it, the players and the officials, and I think that'll play out over the year, but we certainly want to make sure that we're putting on the best product on the court. 

"Obviously, it's going to be a physical game, but you know, we've got to draw lines, and I think you'll see some more lines being drawn around that physicality as a result of some of the insights we gleaned from the state of the game committee and the kind of, what I call officiating subcommittee, where those were the people that were really watching the, you know, hundreds of hours of film."

The WNBA has its eye on the international market

Engelbert said the WNBA is trying to grow at the global level, and that effort will likely begin with some international preseason games "with the long-term goal of bringing regular season games to fans around the world." Engelbert said fans can expect "a true global game" as early as 2027.

"We're heavily looking at that," Engelbert said of playing either an exhibition or regular-season game overseas. "Obviously, this year we have the FIBA World Cup and we were just finishing CBA, etc. But next year we expect that we'll do something outside of North America as a true global game."

Engelbert said the new team in Toronto, the first franchise outside of the US, was also a good step toward that direction. She pointed out that the WNBA is broadcasting in over 200 countries and shared that the WNBA app has also been working on Spanish language content.

Engelbert urged Connecticut Sun fans to stick with the WNBA

The sale of the Connecticut Sun has been a major offseason topic, particularly since Connecticut is a well-known hotspot for women's basketball with the UConn Huskies in the area. Fans were not thrilled about the franchise moving to Houston, and Engelbert addressed it on Monday.

"We had 13 cities bidding on what we thought was one team that we would grant," Engelbert said. "Maybe it was 18 months ago. Obviously, we've now announced Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia in 2028, 2029 and 2030. We did not receive a bid from the Boston market or New England market, obviously with the Connecticut team there. The Mohegan Tribe then hired a banker to represent them in the potential sale."

The Board of Governors still needs to officially approve the sale to Tilman Fertitta, who also owns the NBA's Houston Rockets, but this move seems inevitable and will cost a record-breaking $300 million.

The team is expected to move to Houston in 2027 and share the Toyota Center with the Rockets. The Comets were the WNBA's first dynasty, winning its first four WNBA championships, but folded after the 2008 season.

"Support the Connecticut Sun this season," Engelbert said to fans. "It's a great basketball state, obviously, for women's basketball, some would call it the center of women's basketball with how successful UConn has been over so many years. I would say stick with us. Stick with the WNBA. We know that fandom won't go away."