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

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

Unlike past twelvemonth erstwhile a caller corporate bargaining statement dominated the offseason, the apical precedence is uncovering caller leadership.

Outgoing Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who has been successful the presumption astir 7 years, announced past period that she was retiring astatine the extremity of the calendar with year. A hunt has begun and the adjacent commissioner volition inherit a big of issues, including officiating, the transgender statement scheduling and improving a strained narration with players.

Here's a look astatine immoderate of the main topics that volition beryllium halfway signifier implicit the adjacent fewer months earlier the play tips disconnected again adjacent May with a 50-game schedule:

Improving narration with players

The league thrived successful galore ways during Engelbert's tenure.

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

But contempt her accomplishments, Engelbert's narration with players cordial astatine best, confrontational astatine different times.

Breanna Stewart whitethorn person summed it up champion erstwhile said that players “respect” Engelbert.

Building a stronger narration with players volition apt beryllium 1 of the archetypal things connected the caller commissioner's to-do list.

Officiating improvements

Complaints astir officiating felt similar it reached a crescendo this season.

The WNBA is taking assorted steps to code the situation.

The league is opening a the caller officiating replay center. The WNBA, on with the NBA, completed a multi-million dollar renovation successful New Jersey to the authoritative replay center. It volition beryllium afloat operational adjacent season.

The WNBA is moving to upgrade techonology and video infrastructure astatine arenas to assistance the process.

There were improvements this twelvemonth aft a unsmooth commencement to the play wherever teams struggled to set to the accent connected players' state of movement.

The league enactment unneurotic a task force, which Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve is on, successful the offseason to assistance cleanable up immoderate of the physicality successful the game. The main constituent of accent was to assistance players’ state of movement. Despite immoderate hiccups aboriginal on, it has led to much discourtesy arsenic teams are averaging astir 86 points a crippled — the highest ever.

Scheduling challenges

WNBA teams volition play a grounds 50 games adjacent season. It helps that there's nary interruption for either the women's FIBA World Cup oregon the Olympics.

Still the playoffs could erstwhile again spell into the commencement of the NBA season.

Nearly each squad volition beryllium playing successful an NBA arena adjacent play with a fewer exceptions. To debar a repetition of this twelvemonth wherever Game 6 of the WNBA Finals was played astatine 12:30 p.m. EDT due to the fact that of arena availability, the teams request to fastener successful imaginable playoff dates mode up of time.

Transgender debate

The WNBA has criticized those trying to make a communicative astir transgender women playing successful the league.

“There are nary contiguous eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we powerfully denounce the bad-faith efforts to usage these topics to demean oregon marginalize others,” a league spokesperson said successful August aft an anti-hate task unit met virtually and discussed a assortment of topics, including societal media vitriol and transgender athletes.

The league’s corporate bargaining statement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play successful the WNBA,” but it does not see immoderate much circumstantial connection astir sex individuality oregon enactment assigned astatine birth.

Two erstwhile NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they place arsenic women. The league has said they aren't eligible.

Welcome backmost Houston Comets

The Connecticut Sun volition relocate to Houston arsenic the Comets volition instrumentality aft folding successful 2008. The Sun were bought by the Houston Rockets ownership radical led by Tilman Fertitta for $300 million.

The Comets volition statesman play adjacent play and are tied with Toronto for the champion accidental to triumph the WNBA draught lottery that volition beryllium held connected Nov. 15.

While the Sun relocated to Houston, determination volition beryllium nary enlargement teams entering the league adjacent year. Cleveland volition participate successful 2028, Detroit successful 2029 and Philadelphia successful 2030.

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See AP’s afloat WNBA sum here