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Is the WNBA Heading for Lockout Amid Napheesa Collier, Cathy Engelbert Feud ?

The latest developments in the rift between Minnesota Lynx star and WNPBA vice president Napheesa Collier and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert make the possibility of a lockout feel as real as ever

Will Despart

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addresses attendees of a Cleveland WNBA event celebrating the return of professional women’s basketball to Ohio, Sept. 16, 2025, at Rocket Arena, in Cleveland.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addresses attendees of a Cleveland WNBA event celebrating the return of professional women’s basketball to Ohio, Sept. 16, 2025, at Rocket Arena, in Cleveland. / Andrew Dolph / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the Oct. 31 CBA deadline fast approaching, it appears the WNBA and the WNPBA are as far apart on a resolution as they’ve ever been after the developments of the last week. 

With a potential lockout looming, Minnesota Lynx star and WNPBA VP Napheesa Collier torched WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert with a prepared statement at her exit interview last Tuesday, alleging the commissioner made several controversial and borderline unprofessional statements about the league and its players, including Caitlin Clark. 

Collier's allegations prompted the commissioner’s own prepared response during her annual state-of-the-league address on Friday ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, in which Engelbert categorically denied making comments about Clark while providing a flimsier defense for others. Engelbert also revealed that she had an upcoming meeting with Collier, but that is no longer. 

Collier, dismayed by Engelbert’s response and the insinuation that Collier was lying about the accusations, canceled the meeting scheduled for this week in a move that deepened the divide between the league and its players' association. With this move coming just weeks before the deadline, the general sentiment is that a lockout is now pretty much inevitable.

List of Hang Ups

A wrinkle that has complicated negotiations is the fact that Collier and her husband, Alex Bazzell, are co-owners of the emerging Unrivaled 3x3 basketball league alongside New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart. Despite Unrivaled being an offseason venture designed to address the WNBA’s salary shortcomings, the league views it as a direct competitor. 

Many league proponents view Collier's leadership in negotiations as a significant conflict of interest, given her stake in Unrivaled. The league has made Unrivaled’s existence a central part of the negotiations, allegedly insisting that players not be allowed to play in competing offseason leagues without providing the adequate pay raise necessary to facilitate that demand.

Another likely demand from the players is the outright removal of Engelbert as commissioner, either after or as part of the negotiations, a reality that seems increasingly likely following the unpopularity of her defense on Friday. However, comments from NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Monday suggest the league won’t be receptive to that request.

"Cathy Engelbert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there's no question that there are issues that we need to address with our players, not just economic," Silver told AP. "There are relationship issues as well. I'm confident we can fix those over time, and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it's on right now.”

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Will Despart
WILL DESPART

Will Despart is a Las Vegas-based sportswriter who covers the NBA for OnSI. He also writes for Ballislife and handles multiple beats for The Sporting Tribune, including the Las Vegas Aces and Las Vegas Raiders. His reporting has been featured in newspapers across the country through the Field Level Media news wire.

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