The WNBA offseason has arrived, and this edition will be far less chaotic than the last. No expansion teams will join the league this season, and we will not have a contentious labor battle or the largest free agent class in league history. But that does not mean that everyone is just going to sit around for the next six months.
Ahead of the 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery, which is set for Nov. 15 and is the first big item on the offseason agenda, let's take a look at the biggest offseason questions. In September, Cathy Engelbert announced that she would retire at the end of 2026 after a seven-year reign as the first commissioner in WNBA history. The league has not yet named her replacement, and it's unclear when such an announcement will come.
Engelbert faced significant criticism in recent years over her poor personal relationships with the players. Notably, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier said after the 2025 season that the WNBA had the "worst leadership in the world." In her last public act as commissioner – presenting the championship trophy to the Valkyries – Engelbert was booed loudly. While it was time for Engelbert to go, she was tremendously successful in many regards and helped the league make tremendous strides both on and off the court.
Viewership, attendance and salaries soared under her leadership, and the league added three expansion teams, including the Valkyries, with three more to come by 2030. Engelbert has left the league in a much, much better place than she found it, and her efforts will give the next commissioner the freedom to be more of a people person than a business person. Bethany Donaphin, the WNBA's Head of League Operations, is reportedly one of the leading contenders, while NBA deputy commissioner Marc Tatum has also been mentioned as a way to maintain continuity and synergy between the NBA and WNBA.
ESPN reported that two team executives, New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke and Valkyries president Jess Smith, have been considered, as have Hall of Famer Swin Cash and Nike exec Tanya Hvizdak, but also noted that the league is going through the process with an "open mind." The first big item on the offseason agenda is the 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery, which is set for Nov. 15 and will determine which team has the No. 1 pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft. Late last month, the league finally revealed the official odds for the new seven-team lottery, which has been expanded due to the addition of the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire last season. The Tempo, who went 2-24 to close 2026, will split the best odds with the Houston Comets.
The WNBA uses two-year aggregate records to determine lottery odds, but for the expansion teams, only their 2026 record was considered. The Tempo finished 11-33, while the Comets (as the Sun) went 22-66 over the last two seasons. Thus, the teams had identical .250 winning percentages.
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