STAMFORD, Conn. — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said a new collective bargaining agreement with WNBA players will be reached, but acknowledged relationship issues need to be repaired following recent criticism from Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Those issues came to a head last week when Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier said the league had the “worst leadership in the world” and threatened to overshadow the WNBA finals between Las Vegas and Phoenix that began a few days later.
“There is no doubt that the WNBA is experiencing growing pains, and it is unfortunate that this is happening right when its most important games and Finals are taking place,” Silver said Monday. “We’ve had two fantastic games so far and we want to celebrate this game right now. Then we’ll have to sit down with the players and negotiate a new collective agreement.”
Engelbert also said a new deal would be reached, but not necessarily before the Oct. 31 deadline. Negotiators from the league and players’ association were scheduled to meet this week.
Players are looking for significant changes following the WNBA’s enormous growth in recent seasons, and some have expressed frustration with Engelbert — but not as loudly and forcefully as Collier, the runner-up for the league’s MVP award.
“Cathy Engelbert has presided over the historic growth of the league, but there is no doubt that there are issues we need to address with our players, not just economic,” Silver said. “There are also relationship issues. I’m confident that we can resolve them over time and that this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it is currently on.”
Silver spoke at NBC Sports headquarters to discuss the network’s return to broadcasting the league this season. It will also broadcast the WNBA Finals in 2026.
Former Lakers guard Derek Fisher was president of the National Basketball Players Association in 2011, when the league and union couldn’t reach an agreement in time and a lockout shortened the season to 66 games. He said it was rare to see someone speak the way Collier did during negotiations, but he understood the reason.
“It’s not the norm, but it’s what we’ve felt a lot of times,” said Fisher, who also coached in the WNBA and will be one of NBC’s game analysts for NBA coverage.
“Anytime you’re in the heat of high-stakes negotiations and conversions and discussions, sometimes it reaches a level of distrust, misunderstandings due to miscommunication or miscommunication. But ultimately, until you come to an agreement, there’s a very confrontational nature until you get together.”
Silver insisted they would.
“We will find an agreement with the players,” he said. “There is still a lot of work to do, but of course we will get a new collective agreement.”
It may not be easy. Fisher said he can sense that WNBA players feel like they haven’t been valued enough and are disconnected from the direction of the league.
“I think the W could have been at this point sooner,” Fisher said. “Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have kind of re-accelerated the growth, but this league has always been a special league. And so I think the players are just saying we can’t allow some of the things that have happened over our last 27 years of history. We don’t want to leave the girls over the next 20 years in the position we were in when we had no leverage.”
