Stern\u2019s next choice of WNBA president (the title being \u201cpresident\u201d because Stern felt there should be only one basketball commissioner) was Laurel Richie, who\u2019d been senior vice president and CMO for Girl Scouts of America, another pure outsider. Silver then chose Richie\u2019s successor, Lisa Borders, who shared a spot with him on the Duke University board. But that lasted just two-plus years.<\/p>\n
Engelbert was the supposed breakthrough when she was hired in 2019, anointed as the first W commissioner because, according to insiders, Silver believed it was time to give the job a premium title. Engelbert checked every box, too: CEO of Deloitte; former player; her father, Kurt, drafted by the Pistons. But she was also another outsider who industry executives say struggled to connect with FIBA and USA Basketball. They admit it wasn\u2019t totally her fault because she inherited conflicts (such as the WNBA dealing with the FIBA World Cup hiatus right now). But that\u2019s the argument for picking an in-house candidate this time around: Someone who knows what makes FIBA and USA Basketball tick. <\/p>\n
Of course, it all depends on what the league\u2019s search firm (which hasn\u2019t been announced), the W\u2019s board of governors and Silver himself define as \u201cin-house.\u201d They\u2019re the ones who will vet and formalize the commissioner choice, a process that will begin at the end of this month, with Engelbert providing some input and Silver presumably having final say.<\/p>\n
![\"Commissioner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2HOI5RNP3REH5CUPLRPNNYB3EA.jpg\")
Cathy Engelbert, the first to hold the title of commissioner of the WNBA, will leave the post at the end of the year. Getty Images <\/p>\n
So far, the potential candidates run the gamut. Amy Brooks, a former Stanford player who once ran the NBA\u2019s TMBO unit, is as in-house as it gets. Another stellar in-house name, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, might be deemed by some as ineligible because he\u2019s a man, but one executive said, \u201cWhy? The LPGA has a male commissioner [Craig Kessler].\u201d<\/p>\n
Swin Cash, a former player and current Prime Video broadcaster who once was the Pelicans\u2019 VP of basketball operations and team development, has been mentioned \u2014 although one executive said, \u201cIf you told me she ran the team, I would say, \u2018OK.\u2019 But general head or vice president of player personnel, that means nothing to me.\u201d But still another executive, Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, has pushed Cash hard for the job in the past and once said: \u201cShe is a businesswoman. She\u2019s been an entrepreneur since forever, in just the way she thinks and the way she collaborates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Otherwise, former players \u2014 such as WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike \u2014 who have never run a franchise are long shots. The league would more likely zero in on a current WNBA team president (the Liberty\u2019s Clarke, the Valkyries\u2019 Jess Smith) or a current team owner (Nadia Rawlinson, co-owner and operating chairman of the Sky) or an NBA team president (perhaps Shelly Cayette-Weston of the Hornets, a former player at Tulane). <\/p>\n
If they go out-of-house (and that\u2019s when they\u2019ve had those mixed results), they could turn to Renie Anderson, the NFL\u2019s chief revenue officer and executive vice president, or Ally Financial\u2019s Andrea Brimmer or Duke Athletic Director Nina King. With more NBA teams bidding for W franchises, the NBA\u2019s board of governors will weigh in heavily, too; they certainly have Silver\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n