The next WNBA commissioner could eventually have expanded authority, Adam Silver said Tuesday, as the league continues interviewing search firms and compiling an unofficial list of interested or recommended candidates.
Asked what kind of autonomy Cathy Engelbert’s replacement will have — especially since Silver had to step in and urge Engelbert to suspend Alyssa Thomas for roughing up Caitlin Clark this season — the NBA commissioner said, “It’s something I would say we’re constantly recalibrating.”
But, with seven WNBA teams currently owned by NBA governors (and with Cleveland’s Dan Gilbert, Detroit’s Tom Gores and Philadelphia’s Josh Harris arriving in 2028, 2029 and 2030, respectively), Silver also said a fully integrated league — with the W commissioner reporting directly to him — has operated efficiently up until now.
“Having been involved now with the WNBA for 30 years, I think there are enormous benefits to running integrated operations, and there are also aspects of the league which I think are best run independently,” Silver said in his post-NBA Board of Governors press conference. “…Under Cathy, we fairly significantly increased the portion of our office who’s solely focused on the WNBA. I would say in issues particularly around basketball and player issues, I believe those should be independent people of the NBA and should be under the direct control of the WNBA commissioner.
“And at the end of the day, I think, yes, I oversee the greater organization. But Cathy had enormous independence in those areas on the player relations when it came to overseeing collective bargaining discussions, certainly when it comes to potential rule changes in the WNBA. On the other hand, for example, when we did our media deals, our ability to address the market with year-round programming, I thought added significant value to both leagues. And I think to our partners, both on media and then some of our marketing partners, again, coming to them and saying, ‘We have both NBA programming and WNBA programming, it’s year-round, in many cases, it reaches different demographics,’ is very attractive.”
Silver said “there may come a time at some years from now when it makes sense to have even more [WNBA] independence” and added that the next WNBA commissioner could “have a view, too, as to the appropriate operating structure of the league.”
That said, he would not provide clues on who the next commissioner will be, other than to say the league will name its search firm by the end of the month and candidates have already come trickling in.
“Once we hire a search firm, we’ll begin the search in earnest,” Silver said. “We’ve heard from several potential candidates. We’ve heard from others who are recommending candidates and we are keeping that list right now at the office. And then again, we will move forward on that process.”
Speculation on the candidate list has ranged from Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris from the political world; Swin Cash and Nneka Ogwumike from the former player world; the Liberty’s Keia Clarke and the Valkyries’ Jess Smith from the WNBA team executive world; the Sky’s Nadia Rawlinson from the WNBA ownership world; Duke AD Nina King from the college sports world; Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President Renie Anderson from the NFL world; and Ally’s Andrea Brimmer from the corporate world.