.jpg) Reeve in 2022 | |
| Minnesota Lynx | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Head coach, President of Basketball Operations |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1966-09-20)September 20, 1966 (age 59) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Washington Township (Sewell, New Jersey) |
| College | La Salle (1984–1988) |
| Coaching career | 1988–present |
| Career history | |
| 1988–1990 | La Salle (assistant) |
| 1990–1995 | George Washington (assistant) |
| 1995–2000 | Indiana State |
| 2001–2002 | Charlotte Sting (assistant) |
| 2003 | Cleveland Rockers (assistant) |
| 2004–2005 | Charlotte Sting (assistant) |
| 2006–2009 | Detroit Shock (assistant) |
| 2010–present | Minnesota Lynx |
| Career highlights | |
As head coach:
As assistant coach:
| |
Medals | |
Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an Americanbasketballhead coach and President of Basketball Operations for theMinnesota Lynx of theWNBA.[1] Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championships. In WNBA history, she is first in career wins including regular season and postseason, is second in career regular season wins, and is first in career postseason wins as a coach. Reeve was named theWNBA Coach of the Year in 2011,[2] 2016,[3] 2020,[4] and 2024[5] andWNBA Basketball Executive of the Year in 2019[6] and 2024.[5] She is the first coach in WNBA history to be named Coach of the Year four times.[5]
Cheryl Reeve was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 20, 1966. Reeve grew up inWashington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey and graduated fromWashington Township High School in 1984, where she was part of the school's first team to make the state finals.[7] In 1988, Reeve was aRhodes Scholar nominee and received a MAAC Scholar-Athlete Post Graduate Award and an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science that year and then an MBA, both fromLa Salle University.[8]
Reeve started out as assistant coach at her alma mater, La Salle for two years. She was then an assistant at George Washington for five years. The Colonials posted five 20-win seasons, captured three Atlantic 10 Conference Championships and appeared in four NCAA tournaments during Reeve's stint at George Washington. Her first head coaching position was with theIndiana State Sycamores from 1995 to December 1 of the 2000–2001 season (replaced by her assistant coach Jim Wiedie).[9][10][11][12] She improved the team's record each yearfor the first four seasons, and led the squad to its first postseason berth in 20 years following the 1998–1999 campaign. She is tied with Kay Riek for 5th in Lady Sycamore Wins.
Reeve got her start in theWNBA with theCharlotte Sting in 2001 when she joinedAnne Donovan’s staff as an assistant. After posting an 8–24 record the year previous, Charlotte turned things around in Reeve’s first year by going 18–14 and advancing to theWNBA Finals. They followed in 2002, with another 18–14 mark and their second straight appearance in the postseason.
Following the 2002 campaign, Donovan left to become the head coach of theSeattle Storm, andDan Hughes and theCleveland Rockers hired Reeve away from Charlotte. The Rockers advanced to the playoffs that year, but in the offseason ownership decided to cease operation of the team making Reeve a coaching free agent. She rejoined the Sting staff for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Reeve then spent four seasons as an assistant coach with theDetroit Shock, also serving as the team's last general manager before they moved toTulsa.
Reeve was named the head coach of theMinnesota Lynx on December 8, 2009. In herfirst season, the Lynx went 13–21, missing the playoffs. The team was hampered by injuries toCandice Wiggins andSeimone Augustus. At one point, a frustrated Reeve said bluntly, "We are a bad basketball team. It starts at the top. I have not been able to get them to understand defensively what we need to get done and, clearly, our offense is one of the worst in the league."[13]
The Lynx improved dramatically in2011. With Wiggins and Augustus back healthy, and with the addition of rookieMaya Moore, the team got off to a quick start and did not falter throughout the regular season, finishing with a league-best 27–7 record. The dramatic turnaround earned Reeve theWNBA Coach of the Year Award in just her second year as a head coach at the professional level.[14][15] The Lynx finished what they started, losing only one game in the playoffs en route to their firstWNBA championship.
Reeve took her team back to the playoffs in her third year. The team qualified for the playoffs after just 21 games, the fastest in franchise history. Reeve became the winningest coach in Lynx franchise history on August 26, 2012, with a win over theAtlanta Dream.[16] The Lynx went on to lose to theIndiana Fever in the WNBA Finals.
In 2013, Reeve and her staff coached the WNBA Western Conference All-Star Team, as the Lynx had won the conference championship the previous year. Reeve's squad included four Lynx players:Seimone Augustus,Maya Moore,Rebekkah Brunson, andLindsay Whalen. Reeve's team ended up winning the game, 102–98.[17] Reeve's team then swept through the playoffs, going 7–0 en route to their secondchampionship under her leadership.
Reeve is the most successful coach in franchise history, both in terms of the number of games won and winning percentage, and also has the highest winning percentage in WNBA history. She won her 100th regular season game on June 2, 2014, in a victory over theSan Antonio Stars. She won her 31st postseason game on September 30, 2016, in a semi-final victory over thePhoenix Mercury, to move into first place in WNBA history in playoff wins.[18]
In December 2017, Reeve was also promoted to the Lynx General Manager position.[19] With her 2022 contract extension, Reeve was elevated from the general manager position to president of basketball operations.[20]
Throughout her tenure, Reeve has won many accolades for her coaching. She was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2011,[2] 2016,[21] 2020,[22] and 2024.[5] She was named the AP coach of the year in 2020[23] and 2024.[24] Additionally, she was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.[25]
In the 2016 and 2020 games, Reeve served as an assistant coach on Team USA. In 2016,Geno Auriemma was the head coach, whileDawn Staley took over for the 2020 competition.
Before taking on her role among the assistant coaching staff, Reeve had served as an assistant for the 2014–16 USA National Team that took home gold medals at the 2014 FIBA World Cup Team and 2016 Olympic Games. She returned as an assistant for the 2018 World Cup Team, winning gold and qualifying the USA for the 2020 Olympics.[26]
Reeve was named the head coach for the women's national team in December 2021.[27] As head coach, she led the national team to its fourth World Cup with the October 2022 win.[27] She was named USA Basketball's National Team Coach for the Year in 2022 following the World Cup win.[27] The national team won its 8th Olympic gold medal in the final game against France on August 11, 2024, with Reeve as head coach.[28]
Reeve is married to singer and Lynx President of Business Operations Carley Knox. They have one child, Oliver, who Knox said has seen every Lynx home game since he was born.[29]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana State Sycamores(Missouri Valley Conference)(1995–2000) | |||||||||
| 1995–96 | Indiana State | 7–19 | 3–15 | 9th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Indiana State | 14–13 | 9–9 | T–4th | |||||
| 1997–98 | Indiana State | 17–11 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Indiana State | 18–11 | 10–8 | 4th | WNIT First Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Indiana State | 9–18 | 5–13 | T–7th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Indiana State | 1–5 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Total: | 66–77 (.462) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 2010 | 34 | 13 | 21 | .382 | 5th in West | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs | |
| MIN | 2011 | 34 | 27 | 7 | .794 | 1st in West | 8 | 7 | 1 | .875 | WonWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2012 | 34 | 27 | 7 | .794 | 1st in West | 9 | 5 | 4 | .555 | LostWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2013 | 34 | 26 | 8 | .765 | 1st in West | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | WonWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2014 | 34 | 25 | 9 | .735 | 2nd in West | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Lost inWestern Conference Finals |
| MIN | 2015 | 34 | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1st in West | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | WonWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2016 | 34 | 28 | 6 | .824 | 1st in West | 8 | 5 | 3 | .625 | Lost inWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2017 | 34 | 27 | 7 | .794 | 1st in West | 8 | 6 | 2 | .700 | WonWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2018 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4th in West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in1st Round |
| MIN | 2019 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4th in West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in1st Round |
| MIN | 2020 | 22 | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4th in West | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost inSemifinals |
| MIN | 2021 | 32 | 22 | 10 | .688 | 2nd in West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost inSecond Round |
| MIN | 2022 | 36 | 14 | 22 | .389 | 5th in West | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs | |
| MIN | 2023 | 40 | 19 | 21 | .475 | 3rd in West | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in1st Round |
| MIN | 2024 | 40 | 30 | 10 | .750 | 1st in West | 12 | 7 | 5 | .583 | Lost inWNBA Finals |
| MIN | 2025 | 44 | 34 | 10 | .773 | 1st in West | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | Lost inSemifinals |
| Career | 554 | 364 | 190 | .657 | 83 | 52 | 31 | .627 |
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