With Cathy Engelbert on the way out, what will the WNBA value most when searching for its next commissioner?

For NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the other decision-makers involved in finding Engelbert’s successor, there is no room to get this wrong, not as the world is watching more than ever before and the league is flourishing more than it ever has.

Before we look forward, it’s important to look back. Engelbert’s seven-year term as the league’s first official commissioner (her predecessors all carried the title president), from a business perspective, oversaw quantifiable successes. A lucrative media-rights deal, a new collective bargaining agreement, viewership, attendance, franchise expansion, outside investment — all of it increased exponentially.

But over time, and with alarming frequency, Engelbert repeatedly showed an inability to meet the league’s important, public-facing moments. Foremost among that was her relationship with players, which never needed to be chummy to the point of acquiescence, but needed a softness of touch. (Consistently referring to players as just another set of “stakeholders” was not the best approach.) Engelbert was maddeningly slow to understand issues that mattered most to those players, and she lost their trust when they felt she failed to stand up for them.

What started out with such promise, when Engelbert oversaw the successful “Wubble” 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic and later introduced the in-season Commissioner’s Cup, has been hurtling downhill.

She failed to manage Clark’s amazing entry into the league, somehow ill-prepared for scrutiny and interest that everyone saw coming given Clark’s transcendent collegiate career. Engelbert had to be dragged into getting chartered air travel for players, who were concerned not simply over issues of comfort or physical recovery, but of safety, with public travel exposing them to scary public confrontation.

She was slow to acknowledge obvious issues with poor officiating. She bungled the chance for a seamless entry into the Boston market, letting the Sun move to Houston despite a more lucrative offer from a former Celtics owner. She fumbled an answer about the rise of social media vitriol, particularly racist and misogynistic comments, aimed at players, spinning it as something positive because it reflected the passion of sports rivalries.

And, most recently, she left a gaping leadership void while the likes of Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White hijacked the league for their own misguided debate about trans athletes in sports, declaring themselves female and entering the WNBA Draft in a ploy to exploit transgender athletes in the league (of which there are none, zero, nada).

Clearly, Engelbert’s time has run out.

It will be fascinating to see what the WNBA values in finding the next commissioner. Another business-heavy résumé that lands squarely behind Silver and the NBA in the pecking order of autonomy? Or might Silver and Co. seek out more of a basketball insider, someone with league history, a la former player/front office veteran Swin Cash or Bethany Donaphin (currently the WNBA’s head of league operations)?

The time feels right for a strong personality to be in charge, someone willing to stand ground on the important issues of inclusivity, social justice, and advocacy that formed the bedrock of the league since its inception 30 years ago. At the same time, though, a person who can continue to oversee enough growth in revenue that the necessary financial ties to the NBA grow looser and looser.

Silver declined a request from the Globe to comment on what the search might focus on, but in parsing his comments upon Engelbert’s announcement, it does seem clear the balance between business and leadership is important.

“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” he said. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”

The league’s celebratory 30th season returns to action after the conclusion of the FIBA World Cup this weekend, and the countdown to Engelbert’s departure begins in earnest.

“In 2019, I had the privilege of being appointed the league’s first commissioner and to lead a league with enormous potential yet untapped awareness and significant undervaluation. Over the years, it has been amazing to watch WNBA players thrive and lead the massive cultural surge around women’s sports,” she said in her announcement.

“I retire knowing we have built something bigger, stronger, and more enduring than we could have imagined. I am grateful to the WNBA and NBA team owners and staff, players, investors, fans, and the powerhouse league office staff, who believed in what this league could become. I retire with immense gratitude and tremendous optimism for the future of the WNBA, with the best yet to come.”

From the source Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @Globe_Tara.