Cheryl Reeve

The 2023 season marks Cheryl Reeve’s 14th season as Lynx Head Coach and first as President of Basketball Operations. Reeve previously served as both Head Coach and General Manager for the past five seasons. In 2019, Reeve was named the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year. Additionally, at the conclusion of the 2020 WNBA regular season, Reeve was named Coach of the Year for the third time in her career, tying Van Chancellor and Mike Thibault for most all-time.

Reeve joined the organization as head coach on Dec. 8, 2009, taking over for former head coach Jennifer Gillom. On Dec. 6, 2012, Reeve signed a multi-year contract extension with the club. Prior to the 2016 season, the Lynx signed Reeve to a second multi-year contract extension. On December 28, 2017, Reeve signed a multi-year contract extension and was also named general manager. On November 3, 2022, Reeve signed her fourth multi-year contract extension as head coach and was promoted to president of basketball operations.

Under Reeve, the Lynx have compiled 281 regular season wins over the last 13 seasons, the longest tenure in WNBA history. Since taking over before the 2010 season, Reeve’s 281 wins at the helm (.654 winning percentage) are the most in league history and makes her one of just two coaches ever to win more than 65% of their games (Van Chancellor, .655; min 100 games). Her 41 career playoff victories are the most in WNBA history as well as her .661 (41-21) winning percentage in the playoffs ranking first leaguewide. Reeve is the only head coach to reach the WNBA Playoffs in 11 straight seasons with the same franchise, the second-longest run in the league (Indiana 2005-2016).

Reeve has guided the Lynx to four WNBA championships since joining the organization. The first championship in franchise history came in 2011, with Reeve being named the WNBA Coach of the Year after leading Minnesota to a league-best 27-7 regular season record. The Lynx made a 14-game improvement from 2010, marking the second-largest single-season win increase in WNBA history. Reeve has gone on to lead the Lynx to additional WNBA championships in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Reeve also won two championships with the former Detroit Shock in 2006 and 2008 as an assistant coach.

In 2021, she led the Lynx to a 22-10 record, posting 17 wins in their final 20 starts, to reach the WNBA Playoffs for the 11th consecutive season. Minnesota closed the 2021 season with a .688 winning percentage, extending their league-best streak of winning seasons to 11. On June 17, Reeve registered her 250th career victory against Dallas, becoming the only WNBA coach in history to win 250 games with one franchise.

In 2018, Reeve registered her 200th career victory June 19 vs. Dallas, joining Chancellor and Thibault as the only WNBA coaches to win 200 games with one franchise. She passed the late Anne Donovan to become the league’s winningest female head coach and passed Donovan for sixth on the all-time coaching wins list.

On Dec. 8, 2021, Reeve was named the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Head Coach through 2024. Reeve led the USA at the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Washington, D.C. to a 2-0 victory earning a spot to the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Sydney, Australia. In Australia, Reeve led USA Basketball to a perfect 15-0 record, earning a gold medal and securing a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

As an assistant coach with USA Basketball, Reeve helped the U.S. claim gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and 2014 and 2018 FIBA World Cups and helped the USA claim the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup. During the 2019-20 USA National Team’s expanded training, Reeve stepped in for then-USA head coach Dawn Staley, who was unable to coach due to her collegiate coaching commitments and acted as the team’s lead coach during the 2019-20 college tour (4-1), 2019 FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament (3-0) and 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (3-0).

Additionally, Reeve’s coaching résumé includes 28 years as both an assistant and a head coach at the collegiate and WNBA levels. In 2009, Reeve served as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock and was promoted to the team’s general manager position three games into the season. Hired by three-time WNBA champion head coach Bill Laimbeer, Reeve joined the Shock coaching staff in 2006 and helped the franchise reach the WNBA Finals in each of her first three years, winning WNBA titles in 2006 and 2008. During her four years with Detroit, the team held an 87-49 win/loss record and won at least 18 games each season, including 24 in 2007. Reeve also served as the Shock’s director of player personnel in 2008.

Reeve got her start in the WNBA in 2001 with the Charlotte Sting, when she joined Anne Donovan’s staff as an assistant coach. After posting an 8-24 record in 2000, Reeve helped Charlotte turned things around in her first year, finishing 18-14 to advance to the WNBA Finals. Reeve started the 2002 season in Charlotte before joining Dan Hughes’ coaching staff in Cleveland for the 2003 season. Reeve returned to the Sting in 2004 and 2005 before joining Detroit in 2006. In Reeve’s nine years as an assistant, she compiled a .543 winning percentage (163-137 overall), including seven postseason appearances and advancing to the WNBA Finals four times.

Before joining the WNBA coaching ranks, Reeve spent 12 years coaching collegiately, including a five-year stint as head coach at Indiana State from 1995-2000. Reeve guided the Sycamores to the program's first postseason berth in 20 years following the 1998-99 campaign.

Reeve also spent five years as an assistant coach at George Washington. During that time, the Colonials posted five 20-win seasons, captured three Atlantic 10 Conference Championships and appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Reeve got her start in coaching at her alma matter, La Salle, as an assistant coach for two seasons.

As a player at La Salle, Reeve led the nationally-ranked Explorers to a 25-5 record in 1987-1988. She was named All-Metro Atlantic Conference and was an All-Big 5 selection as a senior. Reeve holds the school record for most games started (110) and ranks fourth on La Salle’s career assist leader board (420).

Reeve excelled athletically and academically at La Salle, graduating with a degree in computer science/management information systems. A Rhodes Scholar nominee, Reeve received both a MAAC Scholar-Athlete Post Graduate Award and a NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 1988. She went on to earn her master’s degree in business administration from her alma mater while also serving two years as an assistant coach for the Explorers.

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