WNBA has a first-time champion, now the offseason begins with high-stakes search for a commissioner

With Golden State the newly crowned WNBA champion, the league turns its attention to a pivotal offseason.

Unlike last year when a new collective bargaining agreement dominated the offseason, the top priority is finding new leadership.

Outgoing Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who has been in the position nearly seven years, announced last month that she was retiring at the end of the calendar with year. A search has begun and the next commissioner will inherit a host of issues, including officiating, the transgender debate scheduling and improving a strained relationship with players.

Here’s a look at some of the main topics that will be center stage over the next few months before the season tips off again next May with a 50-game schedule:

Improving relationship with players

The league thrived in many ways during Engelbert’s tenure.

Under her leadership, the WNBA enjoyed record growth and popularity, and signed a record-breaking broadcasting deal. Players surpassed million-dollar annual salaries.

But despite her accomplishments, Engelbert’s relationship with players cordial at best, confrontational at other times.

Breanna Stewart may have summed it up best when said that players “respect” Engelbert.

Building a stronger relationship with players will likely be one of the first things on the new commissioner’s to-do list.

Officiating improvements

Complaints about officiating felt like it reached a crescendo this season.

The WNBA is taking various steps to address the situation.

The league is opening a the new officiating replay center. The WNBA, along with the NBA, completed a multi-million dollar renovation in New Jersey to the official replay center. It will be fully operational next season.

The WNBA is working to upgrade techonology and video infrastructure at arenas to help the process.

There were improvements this year after a rough start to the season where teams struggled to adjust to the emphasis on players’ freedom of movement.

The league put together a task force, which Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve is on, in the offseason to help clean up some of the physicality in the game. The main point of emphasis was to help players’ freedom of movement. Despite some hiccups early on, it has led to more offense as teams are averaging around 86 points a game — the highest ever.

Scheduling challenges

WNBA teams will play a record 50 games next season. It helps that there’s no break for either the women’s FIBA World Cup or the Olympics.

Still the playoffs could once again go into the start of the NBA season.

Nearly every team will be playing in an NBA arena next season with a few exceptions. To avoid a repeat of this year where Game 6 of the WNBA Finals was played at 12:30 p.m. EDT because of arena availability, the teams need to lock in potential playoff dates way ahead of time.

Transgender debate

The WNBA has criticized those trying to create a narrative about transgender women playing in the league.

“There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” a league spokesperson said in August after an anti-hate task force met virtually and discussed a variety of topics, including social media vitriol and transgender athletes.

The league’s collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it does not include any more specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

Two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women. The league has said they aren’t eligible.

Welcome back Houston Comets

The Connecticut Sun will relocate to Houston as the Comets will return after folding in 2008. The Sun were bought by the Houston Rockets ownership group led by Tilman Fertitta for $300 million.

The Comets will begin play next season and are tied with Toronto for the best chance to win the WNBA draft lottery that will be held on Nov. 15.

While the Sun relocated to Houston, there will be no expansion teams entering the league next year. Cleveland will enter in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

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