WNBA commissioner responds to recent criticism ahead of Aces win over Mercury in Game 1 of Finals

While speaking about recent criticism of the WNBA’s leadership ahead of the Las Vegas Aces’ 89-86 win over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the controversy head-on and outlined some planned changes to acknowledge the concerns voiced in recent days.

She also took the opportunity to dispute some inflammatory quotes that have been attributed to her this week.

“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league, and me personally, do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert said. “And if the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better and I have to do better.”

Engelbert added, “No one should ever doubt how deeply I care about this league, this game and every single player who makes the WNBA what it is.

“We value feedback, we listen to criticism, we remain committed to engaging in the difficult but necessary conversations that ultimately make us all stronger and better.”

Friday’s press conference in Las Vegas before Game 1 of the finals marked Engelbert’s first public comments since her stewardship came under fire from some of the league’s biggest stars earlier this week.

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier didn’t mince words in her criticism of WNBA leadership and Engelbert in her season-ending exit interview on Tuesday, saying Tuesday that “right now, we have the worst leadership in the world.”

With the collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players set to expire at the end of this month, the timing of this dispute futher complicates an already tenuous dynamic between the players union and the league.

One of the biggest targets of Collier’s ire was perceived inconsistent officiating in the WNBA.

Engelbert said Friday that the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association continue to meet and negotiate with the hopes of avoiding a work stoppage. Along with that, Engelbert said she will meet with Collier next week.

“The league has a buzzword that they’ve rolled out as talking points for the CBA as to why they can’t give the players what we’re worth. That word is sustainability,” Collier said. “But what’s truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games.

“Fans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out every night in pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence.”

Collier’s comments came in the wake of an ankle injury sustained on a physical play that knocked her out of the Lynx’s semifinal series against the Mercury. Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.

Engelbert said Friday that the league would establish a new task force with players’ and other stakeholders’ involvement to help WNBA officiating “evolve in step with the growth of the league” with the aim to “ensure player safety and exciting competition.”

Also in her remarks Tuesday, Collier said that in February, she met with Engelbert and brought up the pay disparity between veterans and new players in the league.

“I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin (Clark), Angel (Reese) and Paige (Bueckers), who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years,” Collier said.

“Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she made $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’

“In that same conversation, she told me, ‘Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them,’” Collier continued.

When asked directly about those comments alleged by Collier, Englebert said Friday she was again “disheartened” with what she described as “a lot of inaccuracy about what I said or didn’t say.”

“Obviously I did not make those comments, the commissioner said speaking specifically about Collier’s description of Engelbert’s statement regarding Clark.

“Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game She’s brought tens of millions of fans to the game.”

Clark, who has missed most of the 2025 season with injury, addressed Collier’s dressing down of WNBA leadership at a press conference on Thursday.

“I have great respect for Phee, and I think she made a lot of very valid points,” Clark said at her Indiana Fever exit interview. “I think what people need to understand: We need great leadership in this time across all levels.

“This is straight up the most important moment in this league’s history. This league has been around for 25-plus years, and this is a moment we have to capitalize on.”

The arrival of Clark and other high-profile young players have contributed to a boom in popularity for the long-struggling league.

“Everybody that’s in a place of power has a responsibility, and even myself,” Clark said. “We have a responsibility to make sure that this game is in a great place going forward with the CBA, and caring for our players and building this league to make sure it’s in a great spot for many years to come.”

Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham, whose season was also cut short due to injury, was more uncouth during her exit interview Thursday.

“I think that there a lot of people in the position of power in the WNBA,” Cunninghamd said. “They might be really great business people, but they don’t know sh*t about basketball, and that’s got to change.”

Aces outlast Mercury in Game 1

Following Engelbert’s presser, there was still a game to be played and it turned into a thriller at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Nevada on Friday.

In the first half, it looked like Mercury forward Kahleah Copper was going to prove to be too much to handle for Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old tied a WNBA record, shooting 5-for-6 from 3-point range to for most three pointers made in a half of any Finals game, sharing the record with former Mercury star Diana Taurasi.

Taurasi retired after 20 seasons in the league following the 2024 season.

But a fourth quarter comeback by the former two-time champions Aces is what made the difference in the back-and-forth affair.

With the Aces up one with under a minute to play, Las Vegas guard Jackie Young was called for a blocking foul on Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.

After an unsuccessful challenge, luck came the Aces way in a different way.

Thomas missed both her free throws and Young, fouled on the other end, made both to extend the lead to three points.

Phoenix forward Satou Sabally chucked up a last-second heave as the buzzer sounded but her shot clanked off the backboard as Vegas secured the win.

Dana Evans, who finished tied with A’ja Wilson with a team-high 21 points, became the eighth player in WNBA Finals history to score 20+ points off the bench.

The 27-year-old guard scoffed when asked how the team had gas left in the tank after a tough semifinal series against Indiana Fever.

“It’s the Finals, Holly (Rowe),” Evans told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “We work our whole lives to get here. It’s do-or-die now. We want to come out on top.”

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.

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