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Aces’ Becky Hammon says WNBA may need ‘change in leadership’ as CBA negotiations continue

Kevin SmythBy No Comments8 Mins Read
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The Aces of Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon thinks a change in WNBA leadership could be on the horizon.

One month after leading Las Vegas to its third WNBA championship in four years, Hammon spoke about the state of the WNBA during an appearance on CNBC Sports Wednesday, saying WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert “Fractured” relationships with players could be beyond repair as negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) continue ahead of the extended November 30 deadline.

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“They’re probably going to look for a change in leadership,” said Hammon, who admitted she had only “brief interactions” with Engelbert. “I just think it’s maybe too fractured at this point, but we’ll see.”

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A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces celebrates with Chelsea Gray #12 and Jewell Loyd #24 after winning Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Playoff Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Las Vegas Aces defeat the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 to win the championship.

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Hammon said Engelbert’s “rocky relationship with the players” stemmed from things that were said and everything that wasn’t said.

Minnesota Lynx Before Napheesa Collier used her September 30 exit interview to publicly air her grievances with Engelbert and the league, which she said has the “the worst leadership in the world”. Collier revealed alleged conversations she had privately with Engelbert that focused on the commissioner’s dismissive attitude toward the player’s fight for a higher salary and a bigger share of the revenue pie. Englebert, in turn, said she was “disheartened” by Collier’s description of their conversations.

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“Her private conversations that she had with individual players — or lack thereof — led to some, you know, difficult relationships with players,” Hammon said Wednesday. “The one thing I think W has always stood by is that when players talk, people need to sit down and listen. And I think she’s sitting and listening now. I wish she would have done it sooner. I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to retract that and get that traction back from those conversations.”

Some question whether Englebert is the right person to lead the WNBA through this transformative period, as the rift between her and the players has continued to widen amid the CBA negotiations. However, Engelbert assured Oct. 3 that she was the right person for the job and said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver remained “a big supporter of mine.”

“I never gave up, I was never afraid of difficult situations,” Engelbert said during his annual press conference before the 2025 WNBA finals. “I’ve always been someone who believes that if there are things that we need to fix, we’re going to fix them. If there are things that the players have a point of view on that they don’t like, that we’re doing or that I’m doing, we’ll fix them.”

Aces coach Becky Hammon questions whether WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is the right leader moving forward.

Aces coach Becky Hammon questions whether WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is the right leader moving forward.

On Wednesday, Hammon said the players “earned” a significant pay raise. “I completely agree with Napheesa that players should earn more than coaches,” she added.

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“There’s no doubt about it. The ABC hopes to increase their salaries significantly. They deserve it,” Hammon said. “They need to get a huge salary increase. And it needs to be, you know, something sustainable. And I think that’s the biggest thing you need to remember, that this league is still a young league. We’re still growing, but we’re going in the right direction, and so the numbers need to follow in terms of salaries.”

Hammon hopes the league and WNBA will be able to reach an agreement on a new CBA that satisfies everyone before the new Nov. 30 deadline. She said an owners’ lockout or players’ strike could harm the league’s growing popularity.

“I hope they come to an agreement so there’s no lockout. I think right now we’re on such a high wave that I wouldn’t want there to be a break in the W,” she said. “That being said, you know, you have to come to a reasonable conclusion where both parties are happy, so hopefully they can achieve that.”

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This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Aces’ Becky Hammon says WNBA may need ‘change in leadership’

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