Cathy Engelbert’s final trophy presentation as WNBA commissioner was instantly drowned out by boos. Despite announcing her retirement earlier in the season, it seems that the bad blood between Engelbert and the WNBA fans hasn’t let up. The post-game celebrations took a turn on Saturday as Engelbert took the mic for the Finals trophy presentation.
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The Golden State Valkyries 68-63 win over the Atlanta Dream made the Valkyries the youngest expansion franchise to win a championship. But Ballhalla’s fans, who were celebrating the victory, immediately turned hostile as the mic was handed to Engelbert. Chase Center echoed with loud boos as Engelbert gave her remarks at the podium, per a video posted to X by USA Today’s Meghan L. Hall.
Engelbert has been facing such fans all season long. Earlier in the season, the Commissioner received loud jeers as she presented the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup trophy. The New York Liberty had secured their second Commissioner’s Cup title since 2021 by defeating the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 93-85, successfully withstanding a late fourth-quarter rally.
However, during the trophy presentation, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert attempted to deliver her prepared remarks, but her voice was nearly drowned out by the relentless crowd noise, leaving absolutely no doubt that she was the direct target of the arena’s collective disdain. This marked the second occasion within an eight-month span that Engelbert faced such overwhelming boos.
In last year’s WNBA Finals trophy presentation, Fans in Phoenix relentlessly booed Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, drowning out her remarks as she presented the championship trophy to the Las Vegas Aces and the Finals MVP to A’ja Wilson. The Aces players also allegedly ignored Engelbert during the ceremony before she left the court.
The reception Engelbert has received all season, like after Game 7 of the Finals this time, has had little to do with the game itself. While there is no denying that Engelbert has overseen significant commercial growth during the 2026 season, the commissioner has taken flak all year for issues ranging from player safety and officiating inconsistencies to the league eligibility issue and, subsequently, the league’s eligibility criteria, and for being non-communicative with the players on other critical issues.
And Engelbert has been called out by some players directly, too.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas openly called out the commissioner for remaining silent while Thomas weathered a vicious storm of death threats and online harassment. The toxic backlash followed a highly scrutinized June 24 matchup against Indiana, where Thomas was handed a one-game suspension for making contact with Caitlin Clark.
Then there was the whole fiasco regarding players eligible for the WNBA Draft, after Sophie Cunningham’s personal comments in an interview kicked off a political storm that gripped the WNBA for months. Engelbert was criticized for not being vocal and clear about the league’s stance and rules, especially in the wake of two ex-NBA players declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft.
However, the mood surrounding the outgoing commissioner will not dampen the festivities that will now begin for the Valkyries. Behind a 30-point performance from Gabby Williams, fueled by a dominant second-half surge, the Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals.
The win marks the first championship in franchise history for the second-year expansion team, capping off a playoff run that included a first-round win over Dallas, a sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, and a grueling seven-game series victory over Atlanta.