Cathy Engelbert sidesteps questions about WNBA future, talks CBA lessons

NEW YORK ― WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed a litany of subjects ahead of the 2026 WNBA Draft , including the future of her job. An hour before the top prospects in women's college basketball were set to walk the stage at The Shed in New York, Engelbert gave her annual pre-draft press conference, where she spoke about offseason activities like the new CBA agreement, expansion teams and the league's growth. However, a question about her future seemed to bother the commissioner, who ultimately sidestepped the inquiry before pondering if it would have been asked of a man.

Engelbert eventually said there was "nothing else to report" and denied that there was any "story" about her future. "I do crack up how everybody'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," Engelerbert said. "I appreciate that you're focused on me as well.

I wonder if you would ask that of a man, by the way, but I realize as women we get asked different questions than men do. " The commissioner did answer other questions about the state of the league, the CBA and lessons learned from the process. Here are some of the key takeaways from Engelbert's press conference: Engelbert admits housing was surprise sticking point during CBA Housing became a key sticking point during the marathon CBA negotiations ahead of the 2026 season.

However, Engelbert appeared surprised by a strong push from players to continue housing. The league has provided housing since the first CBA in 1999. "I didn't know how important and emotional that was for them because I just assume ― having two children in their 20s ― that, you know, pay 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," Engelbert said.