A’ja Wilson is on a roll at the moment. Playing for the Las Vegas Aces, she is looking all set to take her team to a championship run. Owing to her exceptional performance on the hardwood, head coach Becky Hammon compared Wilson to Michael Jordan and LeBron James. However, despite the Aces 3-0 up in the finals, things are not looking all rosy for the WNBA players at the moment, courtesy Cathy Engelbert.
And one of the biggest reasons for the same has been the continued tension about the CBA negotiations. With recent comments from the WNBA commissioner going viral, the Aces star could not help but send a piece of advice recently.
A’ja Wilson Wants Cathy Engelbert To Focus On Relationship Building
The relationship between Engelbert and the WNBA players has not been the best recently. As the CBA deadline of October 31 is coming up, things are still looking pretty rough. And adding further fuel to the fire, Napheesa Collier criticized the WNBA commissioner for a lack of accountability. Looking at the sorry state of affairs, Wilson has now come up with some advice that Engelbert might do well to follow. And that is building a good relationship with the players.
“I think the biggest thing for me is relationship building. Getting to know players and getting to know us, what we want, what we believe in, and our stories. I think that’s key for me. When I think of a commissioner or whatever, I’m looking at it as kind of like a coach, we’re trusting you to do things,” said Wilson, as per Desert Wave Media.
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson said relationship building is the ideal trait that she’s looking for in a commissioner.
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) October 9, 2025
#WNBA pic.twitter.com/7WnQErrrBw
Surely, with more and more athletes coming up and expressing their frustrations, Engelbert’s tenure as the commissioner looks quite rocky. And as for Wilson, this was not the first time she had spoken against Engelbert.
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A’ja Wilson Supported Napheesa Collier Against Cathy Engelbert
Napheesa Collier had one of the most controversial speeches after the Minnesota Lynx made their exit. She pointed out that the real threat to the league was not a lack of finances. But it was the lack of accountability from the league leadership. She also termed the leadership of the WNBA as the ‘worst.’ And soon, names like Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson, and others came forward to support her. In a recent statement, Wilson extended her support towards Collier as she said that Engelbert’s comments ‘disgusted’ her.
“I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made. But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of players’ association representing us, because that’s what we are going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in. I’m grateful to have those types of people be able to continue to speak up for us,“ Wilson said.
Thus, it is evident that things are looking dark at the moment. And with a lot of boxes to tick, it remains to be seen whether the situation will be sorted in the near future.