Sophie Cunningham hints at WNBA commissioner shakeup as she goes after Cathy Engelbert

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Key points

• The Golden State Valkyries – the newly confirmed host for the 2027 WNBA All-Star game – joined the league in 2025.
• Both the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire introduced in 2026.
• During a mid-July press conference at NBA Summer League, Silver was noncommittal on Engelbert's future with the league.
• Other players, such as Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, have voiced their displeasure with Engelbert at the helm.
• In her seventh year as the WNBA's commissioner, Engelbert's current contract is due to expire after the 2026 season.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham remarked she believes new leadership might assist the WNBA.

In an interview published Wednesday by USA Today, Cunningham – who became a lightning rod against the backdrop of debates of transgender athletes in women's sports – discussed commissioner Cathy Engelbert's future, and stated "that could be a position maybe open" at the end of this year's league calendar.

"You do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time, " Cunningham remarked. "So I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that's maybe open at the end of the year, but that's not my call."

Cunningham, who acknowledged that any position of power has its challenges, emphasized the importance of leadership supporting players' expansion.

"(Cathy Engelbert's) done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that, " Cunningham remarked. "That's just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but. That's up to Adam Silver at the end of the day."

"I think Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league, " Silver remarked, noting that he didn't want to speak for Engelbert. "We'll have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like."

As well as six new expansion teams, silver continued that he was "pleased" with the "tremendous progress" produced under Engelbert – who was at the helm for a contentious CBA agreement in March.

For context, the Golden State Valkyries – the newly confirmed host for the 2027 WNBA All-Star game – joined the league in 2025.

Both the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire introduced in 2026. The Cleveland Sirens are set to commence play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

As well as the handling of social justice matters and treatment of players on and off of the court, despite the league's expansion, Engelbert came under fire for relationships with players, or lack there of.

Taken together, the developments around sophie Cunningham hints at WNBA commissioner shakeup as she goes after Cathy point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.